Man City let Real Madrid off the hook in seven-goal Champions League classic

(Front row from L) Manchester City’s Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, Manchester City’s English midfielder Phil Foden, Manchester City’s Ukrainian midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko, Manchester City’s Algerian midfielder Riyad Mahrez, Manchester City’s Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus (back row from L) Manchester City’s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri, Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City’s French defender Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City’s English defender John Stones and Manchester City’s Portuguese defender Ruben Dias pose for a team picture prior to the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg football match between Manchester City and Real Madrid, at the Etihad Stadium, in Manchester, on April 26, 2022. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Pep Guardiola said he had to reiterate to his players they had beaten Real Madrid 4-3 in a Champions League classic on Tuesday despite the disappointment of not killing off their semi-final tie at the Etihad.

Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were on target for Guardiola’s men, who held a two-goal lead three times.

But Karim Benzema’s double and a brilliant individual effort from Vinicius Junior gave Madrid hope of another famous Champions League fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu on May 4.

Guardiola lamented letting Liverpool escape “alive” in the Premier League title race after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad nine days ago and will have similar regrets after a blistering opening that could have seen City go 4-0 up inside half an hour.

“I want to try to convince to my players that we won the game and we have to go to Bernabeu to play like we did today,” said Guardiola.

“It doesn’t matter if we would