Manchester City
Rodri aims bitter jibe at Real Madrid amid Champions League exit
Rodri claims Man City deserved to reach Champions League semi-finals
Real Madrid won quarter-final tie on penalties after 4-4 draw on aggregate
"In my opinion, we should go through with that amount of chances" Rodri remarks

By Jamie Spencer
Apr 18, 2024
Rodri insists Man City deserved to beat Real Madrid
Rodri insists Man City deserved to beat Real Madrid / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has claimed "only one team" was trying to win on Wednesday night as Real Madrid snatched victory on penalties in the Champions League quarter-finals.

City, seeking to become the first English side to retain the European Cup since Nottingham Forest in 1980, dominated the second leg at the Etihad Stadium, controlling the majority of possession and out-shooting their opponent by a ratio of four to one.

But it was Madrid who scored the opening goal of the game to move 4-3 ahead on aggregate when Rodrygo fired home inside 12 minutes. The only one of City's 33 attempts that found the net was Kevin De Bruyne's 76th minute equaliser, forcing extra-time. But Madrid prevailed 4-3 from the spot.

"To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended [well]. They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are," Rodri said to reporters afterwards.

"In my opinion, we should go through with that amount of chances, but this is the trick of this competition. They know how to play it. We congratulate [Madrid]. We gave everything, there is nothing to regret. This is football sometimes. This shows how difficult it is to win it, as we did last season. It was very frustrating and sometimes it is difficult to explain."

Real Madrid won on penalties
Real Madrid won on penalties / DARREN STAPLES/GettyImages
Pep Guardiola also alluded to his belief that City deserved to go through on "merit", before adding that isn’t always something the Champions League "understands".

He reflected: "We know that this competition does not understand merits, it understands to put the ball in. It is true that the only one they have had was put in, and we have been in tow the entire game and we have managed to tie."

City's season could yet finish with two trophies, as Premier League leaders with six games left and favourites of the final four teams to lift the FA Cup. Madrid are also chasing two trophies, set to reclaim La Liga and hunting a record-extending 15th Champions League.

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Emiliano Martinez says being Villa’s penalty hero against Lille was ‘destiny’

King of the dark arts Emiliano Martinez said it was his destiny to be the penalty shootout hero as Aston Villa booked their spot in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League

The Argentina goalkeeper, who helped his country win the World Cup 18 months ago in similar circumstances, produced more heroics against Lille, saving spot-kicks from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to earn a 4-3 shootout win after the quarter-final had ended 3-3 on aggregate.

There was plenty of his trademark gamesmanship on show as he shushed the baiting French crowd, who had not forgotten what happened in Qatar, and then caused confusion by receiving a yellow card from the referee in the middle of the shootout, having already been booked in normal time.

But bookings are not carried forward into the shootout meaning he could stay on and send Villa into a first European semi-final since 1982.

“It has been a hell of a ride all of my career. I am a believer and a hard worker and it was my destiny today,” he said on TNT Sports.

“I always say in all my career, I owe my team-mates in those moments, even when we were watching Real Madrid last night the manager was saying we might go to penalties and in those moments I own my box.”

On the shootout drama, where he was shown a yellow card by referee Ivan Kruzliak, he said: “It’s all about reputation for time-wasting because the other goalie was doing exactly the same thing.

“I got a yellow after 30 minutes and we were losing the game so I don’t know what the ref wants from me.

“Then there was no ball in the penalty spot and I was asking for a ball from the ball boy and I get booked; I just don’t understand the rules.”

Martinez’s heroics rescued Villa as they were not deserving of victory, having been outplayed for the majority of the second leg in France, with goals from Yusuf Yazici and Andre overturning a 2-1 first-leg advantage.

Matty Cash’s 87th-minute strike sent it to extra-time, with Martinez coming up trumps in the shootout to give boss Unai Emery an eighth successive European quarter-final victory.

The Spaniard, so prolific in the Europa League with Sevilla and Villarreal, will be eyeing another European trophy.

And with Villa leading the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League which would achieve Champions League qualification for the first time in the club’s history, the Argentina international says something special is on the horizon.

“This group of players and the managers are special, the owners get involved as well, they are always behind us,” he said.

“It feels like we are going to do something special, I don’t know if it’s Champions League or I don’t know if its Conference League but we try to do everything we can to push the football club.”

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Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior injury: Real Madrid issue update ahead of El Clasico
Vinicius Junior withdrawn before the end of Man City clash through injury
Real Madrid to face Barcelona in huge Clasico in La Liga on Sunday evening
Concern over the Brazilian's condition has quickly been allayed by the club

By Jamie Spencer
Apr 18, 2024
Vinicius Junior was injured during Man City clash
Vinicius Junior was injured during Man City clash / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Real Madrid have little concern over Vinicius Junior ahead of Sunday's potentially decisive Clasico against Barcelona, even with the Brazilian being withdrawn before the end of Wednesday's epic Champions League battle with Manchester City.

Vinicius played 102 minutes of the contest, which eventually saw Madrid prevail on penalties in pursuit of their record-extending 15th European Cup. But he was replaced by Lucas Vazquez in the first half of extra-time due to injury, with the tie's outcome still in the balance.

Given that Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu in just a matter of days, his substitution naturally worried fans. But The Athletic's Guillermo Rai revealed he has been assured by the club that Vinicius and Dani Carvajal, who also went off injured during the tense period of extra-time, were both "dancing in the locker room with the music super loud" afterwards.

Having finished sixth in the 2023 Ballon d'Or vote Vinicius has further underlined his status as one of the best in the world this season, his first wearing Madrid's iconic number seven shirt made famous by legends like Raymond Kopa, Emilio Butragueno, Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Vinicius Junior
Vinicius celebrated with his teammates after knocking Man City out / Alex Livesey - Danehouse/GettyImages
The 23-year-old has racked up 28 goals and assists across 31 games in all competitions, with only Jude Bellingham (30), who has played four extra games, registering more in the Madrid squad.

Ahead of the weekend's Clasico, Madrid hold an eight-point lead over Barcelona in La Liga. Victory, as was already the case in the reverse league meeting and the Supercopa de Espana final in October and January respectively, would grow that gap to a surely insurmountable 11 points with only six games to go. Conversely, a Barca win would cut the deficit to just five points.

Madrid's last La Liga title came as recently as 2021/22, a season in which they also claimed the Champions League trophy. That double remains a distinct possibility again now, with Bayern Munich standing in the way over two legs in the semi-finals later this month and into May.

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