“We had the chances” – Manchester City defender fumes at Champions League quarter-final exit | OneFootball

Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias has revealed his frustration at Wednesday’s Champions League penalty shoot-out loss to Real Madrid.

City, who were bidding to retain their European crown and treble triumph, were knocked-out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stages on Wednesday night, suffering a 3-4 penalty shoot-out loss.

Despite registering 33 attempts during the second-leg clash at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City were unable to score a second goal during the 120 minutes, forcing penalties to decide on progression to the semi-finals.

Manchester City exited the competition at the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, with the score level at 4-4 on aggregate, following the 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium and 3-3 draw in the first-leg last Tuesday.

Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th minute strike cancelled out Rodrygo’s 12th minute goal in the second-leg, prior to Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missing penalties for Manchester City in the shoot-out.

Ruben Dias made his sixth appearance for Manchester City against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, with the defender partnering Manuel Akanji in central defence for the majority of the game.

Speaking following the loss to Real Madrid, the Portugal international revealed his frustration with Manchester City’s first exit at the quarter-final stage in four years.

“I don’t even really know what to say. It’s just frustrating, we dominated the game, the whole game,” said Dias.

“In the end, you go to penalties, but the effort was there. We had our chances. It’s obviously a difficult one to take.

“Of course, the way we controlled the game, you do everything to avoid going to penalties because in a way it’s what they wanted. But yeah, it’s difficult to take it. There’s only one way, the way is forward.

“You have many ways to look at it. From our side, we look at what we could do better. The team was there. We fought and had our chances. I guess it was not our day.”

Manchester City could still add two further trophies to their growing collection this season, with an upcoming Emirates FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.

Guardiola’s side are also two points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool in the race for the title, as Manchester City seek to become the first club to win the Premier League trophy four years in a row.