This result means Man City will have to work harder to progress further in the Champions League play-off round, before the second leg in Madrid next week.
Pep Guardiola's team were leading 2-1 in the 80th minute, however, in the remaining time of the match, Man City conceded 2 more goals through Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham.
“Again, like the Arsenal game, I don’t know how to express my feelings. The result is disappointing for everyone, we played well until the last minute, then two situations happened and we conceded two goals.
As a defender, I am really disappointed and angry with this defeat. Man City had a great chance to go to the Bernabeu with a 2-1 win, but now the team's objective is to score a goal to level the score after the first leg," John Stones told Amazon Prime after the match.
Pep Guardiola's side have conceded seven goals in the final 15 minutes of Champions League matches this season. The defeat to Real Madrid marked the first time since 10 April 2018 that City have lost a home Champions League match after leading at half-time.
“We need to look at the game better. The manager said we need to take responsibility for what we do on the pitch, I think we will. We have to stay positive and look forward, and we have another 90 minutes to fix this,” Stones added.
Like Stones, coach Pep Guardiola was disappointed that Man City dropped points after conceding late goals. In the Champions League, they lost to Sporting Lisbon, PSG and drew with Feyenoord after taking the lead. In the Premier League, Man City also lost 1-2 to Man United.
“After leading 2-1, we dropped points, which has happened too often this season against Sporting Lisbon, Brentford, Man United… At this level, it is unacceptable. We have to look at ourselves,” said Pep Guardiola.
Man City will need to win at the Bernabeu next week to have any chance of reaching the last 16.
Guardiola stressed that he and his players know who they are up against. Man City know the quality of Real Madrid. Despite the disappointment of the first leg result, he believes his team will improve things in the return leg.
