LONDON —
Pep Guardiola admits “no words can
help” ease the pain of Manchester City’s elimination from the Champions League
as he refocuses on his side’s Premier League title challenge.
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City were just moments away from claiming a place in
the final against Liverpool before
Real Madrid staged a stunning fightback at
the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Real scored twice in the final seconds of normal
time and eventually won the game 3-1 after extra-time, taking the semi-final
tie 6-5 on aggregate.
Asked on Friday what he said to his players,
Guardiola told reporters: “We didn’t speak. No words can help what we feel.
“It’s a question of time, try to sleep and think of
the targets. Tomorrow we will talk.”
The City boss must now pick his men up for the
Premier League run-in.
City, who lead Liverpool by just one point with four
games left, host mid-table Newcastle on Sunday, a day after Jurgen Klopp’s team
play Tottenham.
“We’re not thinking about the title, we’re thinking
about Newcastle,” said Guardiola.
“That’s enough to focus on. Then Wolves, then West
Ham. It’s not necessary to listen to what people are saying we can achieve.”
Guardiola, speaking at his pre-match press
conference, made a passionate defence of his side after their latest stumble on
the European stage.
City have dominated English football over the past
decade but have yet to be crowned European champions despite huge investment
from their Abu Dhabi owners.
“If people say it’s a failure then I disagree,” said
Guardiola, whose team lost last year’s Champions League final to Chelsea.
“The people in the squad know how difficult it is.
But they accept it. I’m not going to make a debate.
“In the club the feeling we have is we try to do it
again. We are sad, of course, because we were close.”
Guardiola, who won two
Champions League titles when
in charge of Barcelona, said Real deserved their victory but vowed City would
not give up on their Champions League dream.
“The players wanted to play the final but for this club to
compete against Real the way we did is a joy,” he said.
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