Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted it was a tough pill to swallow after his side fell victim to a miraculous comeback against Real Madrid.
City appeared all set to book their ticket to Paris for an all-English final against Premier League title rivals Liverpool when Riyad Mahrez gave them a 1-0 lead in the 73rd minute on Wednesday in Madrid, pulling them away 5-3 over the two legs.
Jack Grealish saw a shot blocked on the line and then another effort saved by Thibaut Courtois as City threatened to runaway with it, their place in a second straight Champions League finally seemingly secured.
But as Los Blancos threw numbers forward in desperation, they found a lifeline when Karim Benzema was able to find Rodrygo at the edge of the six-yard box, setting up a thrilling finish.
Incredibly, just 91 seconds later Rodrygo got on the end of another cross, flicked on by Marco Asensio, to head home and pull Madrid level on aggregate.
The Madrid forward nearly made it a hat-trick in the 93rd minute, forcing a save from Ederson to take things into extra-time, in which a Benzema penalty would send the Spanish giants, 13-time European champions, through at City's expense.
Speaking to BT Sport after the crushing result, Guardiola said it was a cruel feeling to come so close before ultimately falling short. Indeed, City did not face a single shot on target until Rodrygo netted Madrid's first in the 90th minute.
"Yeah, we were close. We were close – but in the end, we could not reach [the final]," he said.
"It's simple – in the first half, we didn't have game. We were not good enough, but we didn't suffer much.
"After we scored the goal we were better, we found our tempo, our game, and the players were comfortable on the pitch.
"The last 10 minutes they attacked and attacked, and you suffer, it didn't happen. In that moment you can say okay, they were 10-15 minutes completely attacking, we would not survive – this was not the case.
"They put a lot of players in the box – [Eder] Militao, with Rodrygo, with Vinicius Jr, with Benzema, with Asensio – all of them, and with crosses, they score two goals.
"We didn't suffer much – we didn't play our best – but these moments in finals, the players feel the pressure. We were close. Football is unpredictable, it's a game like this, and sometimes you have to accept it."
Guardiola acknowledged there were some heartbroken players after the result, but knows they will need to move on quickly and re-focus on the Premier League title race. With four games to go, City hold a one-point lead over quadruple-chasing Liverpool.
"Yes [the players are crushed), I mean, we were close to reaching the final of the Champions League," he added.
"We need some time to process that, then come back with our people at home for the last few games we have."
Guardiola has now suffered an exit at the semi-final stage of the Champions League on six separate occasions as a manager, tying him level with Jose Mourinho.
Julian Nagelsmann to stay on as Germany coach until after 2026 World Cup
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has signed a new contract to extend his role until after the 2026 World Cup.
Former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann was appointed in September last year as successor to Hansi Flick, who was sacked after a poor run of results.
The German FA said: “The 36-year-old’s new contract runs until the conclusion of the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In September last year, Nagelsmann initially signed a contract up to and including EURO 2024.”
Germany, who are hosting the European Championships in June and July, have won their last two friendly internationals, beating France 2-0 in Lyon and the Netherlands 2-1 in Frankfurt last month.
Nagelsmann said: “It’s a decision of the heart. It’s a great honour to be able to coach the national team and work with the best players in the country.
“With successful, passionate performances, we have the chance to sweep an entire country along. The two victories against France and the Netherlands in March gave a foretaste of this.
“I was very touched by the enthusiasm of the fans. Together we now want to play a successful home European Championship, we are all burning for it.
“After that, I’m really looking forward to the challenge of a World Cup together with my coaching team.”
Nagelsmann began his managerial career aged 28 at Hoffenheim before securing Champions League football with Leipzig, and succeeded Flick as boss at Bayern Munich in 2021.
Lawrence Shankland dreaming of cup glory with Hearts
Lawrence Shankland is allowing himself to dream of adorning his already distinguished Hearts career with Scottish Cup glory as he targets semi-final revenge on Rangers this Sunday.
In less than two seasons at Tynecastle, the 28-year-old Scotland forward has firmly established himself as a hero in the eyes of supporters by notching 56 goals for the Jambos.
But Shankland knows captaining Hearts to their first silverware in 12 years would elevate his status at the club even further.
“It would be amazing,” he said. “You’re allowed to dream when you’re at this stage.
“The semi-final, one step away from a final, it’s obviously something you’re looking at. But you need to concentrate on the task at hand first and if you can get by that, you can continue to dream.
“All trophies help the status of not just me but the full team. You go down as a team that gets remembered if you can get your hands on a trophy so the boys will have that in their heads and that’s what we’ll look to do.
“It’s a great opportunity for us, it’s one we are all looking forward to and we need to go into it with a real positive outlook.”
Shankland was at Hampden for each of Hearts’ previous two Scottish Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2012.
“I was working at the 2012 final (against Hibernian) with Queen’s Park (where he was a young player) handing out the programmes,” he recalled. “And the one before that, against Gretna, I was at Hearts as a kid and got tickets through the club.
“I met the Gretna owner Brooks Mileson outside the ground and got a photo with him. Good memories, so hopefully we can go back this year and get our hands on the cup.”
Hearts’ last visit to Hampden brought a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup in early November.
However, since that setback, at a time when they were struggling in the league, Steven Naismith’s side have found much improved form over the past six months and motored 11 points clear in third place in the cinch Premiership.
“The last time at Hampden we came away with a bit of regret,” said Shankland. “We felt we didn’t really put our stamp on the game and we let it bypass us, which was really disappointing.
“That was something we can learn from though, so hopefully we can implement what we’ve been working on this time.”
While Hearts go into the semi-final buoyed by back-to-back wins over St Mirren and Livingston, Rangers have won only two of their last eight matches in all competitions and have been heavily criticised as their title bid has unravelled in recent weeks.
“Obviously they’ve been going through a wee sticky spell but we know it’s going to be difficult,” said Shankland. “It’s a Scottish Cup semi-final, it’s away from league duty, so they will get a lift from that.
“If you look too much into their form, you could get caught. Rangers are obviously a good team and have been for the last wee while.
“Of course form maybe drops off a wee bit but it’s just the scrutiny of our league and how high the pressure is for the two teams at the top of the league that adds to it.
“I don’t think we can look at it too much. We’ll analyse Rangers as we know them, and the last time we played them at Ibrox, they gave us a bit of a doing (5-0), so that’s something we’ll need to be wary of.”
Arsenal have ‘great’ title chance if they can avoid injuries – David Seaman
David Seaman believes a clean bill of health could be the difference between Arsenal winning the Premier League and falling short this season.
The Gunners are two points behind Manchester City after losing to Aston Villa last weekend but can return to the summit if they win at Wolves on Saturday.
The three-way tussle with reigning champions City and a Liverpool side which are losing manager Jurgen Klopp at the end of the campaign promises to be a title showdown for the ages.
The picture shifts after every round of fixtures and, with just six games remaining, the slightest of margins could determine the destination of the trophy.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool slipped up last week to allow City to lead the way, while Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich has also hit Mikel Artete’s side.
But, for former Arsenal and City goalkeeper Seaman, Arsenal need to be able to call upon their best players in the closing weeks if they are to win a first league crown in 20 years.
They lost centre-back William Saliba in the run-in last season and were ultimately reeled in by a City side which went on to win the treble.
“Am I confident? Yes, there’s three teams in it and, so long as Arsenal keep their players fit, then we’ve got a great chance,” Seaman said.
“Our squad is not as big as Liverpool’s is and City’s is, but if Arsenal can keep everyone fit and ready, we’ve got a great chance.
“We struggled last year through injuries, but now we’re at a different level at Arsenal, we are contenders whereas before we sometimes celebrated getting in the top four.
“But now we’re in contention every season so that shows the improvement in the team.”
Seaman will once again work with the England goalkeepers as a coach during this year’s Soccer Aid for UNICEF in June.
The 60-year-old collected 75 caps for the Three Lions during his own playing career and has played a role in working closely with current England and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
David Raya has been Arteta’s first choice since September following his move from Brentford and, while Seaman insists Ramsdale is “too good” to be a back-up goalkeeper, he has been impressed with the Spaniard.
“When David came in, he found it tough, he came from Brentford to play for Arsenal and that is next-level pressure,” he added.
“Plus, he overtook Aaron who was a fan’s favourite, but he’s found his feet now, his distribution at the back is brilliant and Arsenal have got two really, really good goalkeepers – how you keep them both happy, I have no idea!”
:: Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on 9th June at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets
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