Real Madrid vs Manchester City UCL: Guardiola, Mbappe, Ancelotti react

Real Madrid easily beat Manchester City 3-1 with a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick on Wednesday in their Champions League playoff second leg at a raucous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, earning them a 6-3 aggregate victory and a place in the last 16. Last year’s champions will face either Bayer Leverkusen or city rivals Atletico Madrid, depending on Friday’s draw, as they seek a record-extending 16th title. It was the first time in Guardiola’s illustrious career that one of his teams in the Champions League had failed to reach the round of 16. Mbappe, who scored 256 goals in 308 appearances over six years at Paris St Germain, said he did not care about being the top scorer if it did not lead to silverware while Guardiola conceded his City side aren’t extraordinary anymore. Here is a roundup of who said what:
Guardiola on City’s defeat: “Nothing is eternal. We have been unbelievable and we have to try step step to get better from today. We have been extraordinarily extraordinary in the past, but not any more. We will have time to think about (rebuilding). It’s easy to jump to conclusions like that now. The defeat at home was hard to swallow and this one is even harder. But Real Madrid are very good and we know it. In time, we will all accept things as they are. But now we still have 14 games to go until the end of the season and we’ll face it as we should. Let’s think about the Premier League and the FA Cup. We will try to be in this competition again next season.”
Ancelotti on Mbappe: “He has the quality to reach his numbers, but he has to work, because Criano set the bar very high, but he is so excited to play here, he can reach Criano’s level. Everyone was waiting for this hat-trick from him and it has finally arrived. But Mbappe is not the only one, we have many players who make a difference. And they make a difference with their collective work above their individual quality which is remarkable.”
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Mbappe on his quest for UCL: “I was the Champions League’s top scorer last year, but did I win it? No. I don’t care about being the leading scorer, in my career, I have scored many goals. If with these goals we win titles I will sign with my blood. If I can score 50, all the better, but all I want is to win titles.”
Ancelotti on the road ahead: “It’s not positive at all having to go through the knock-out because we had to play 10 games to get to the last 16. We’re not coming out of a difficult period, we’re entering one because this is when the real season starts. There is no way to stop, to rest. But on an emotional level, sure, this tie has been good for us. Let’s keep rolling.”
Guardiola on Erling Haaland: “Erling tried to practice but he was really hurting from the challenge against Newcastle. It hurt when he walked, when trying to go up and down stairs. In the morning he told me he wasn’t ready, that he wasn’t feeling well. The plan was to try, to try to get a better result than in Manchester and, in his condition, it wasn’t the best option. We weren’t able to stop Mbappe and the better team won. Madrid deserved it. We’ve done quite well in previous seasons, but this year we’re not getting off to a good start. We have to learn. Physique matters a lot at the Bernabeu and they, on top of that, have improved, because now they run more. They press high and are very dynamic. Nothing else to say, they deserved it. Accept it and that’s it.”
(With agency inputs)