Pep Guardiola slams critics as Gabriel Jesus breaks Man City silence on Real Madrid

Here are your Manchester City evening headlines on Friday, May 6.

Pep Guardiola disputed the suggestion that his Manchester City side lacked character and insisted that their Champions League exit was not a failure.

In a passionate performance facing the media in person for the first time since their heartbreaking defeat to Real Madrid, the coach spoke about his pride in being in charge of his group of players and having owners who do not judge his success by trophies. While he said that he would accept their semi-final exit as a failure - particularly given the nature of their dramatic collapse - Guardiola completely disagreed with the suggestion.

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Another painful exit has left many wondering if City can ever win the Champions League, and their manager admitted that he could not answer whether they could or would. However, he launched a lengthy defence of his side that addressed much of the criticism levelled at them since Wednesday and also sought to place their achievements ahead of nearly every other club in Europe.

Read more from Guardiola here.

Gabriel Jesus has issued a defiant message in the first social media activity from a Manchester City player since their Champions League exit to Real Madrid.

City were minutes away from a second successive Champions League final at the Bernabeu, holding a two-goal aggregate lead as injury time approached. However, 89th and 91st-minute goals levelled the tie for Real, with Karim Benzema completing the comeback early in extra time.

The Blues looked stunned at full time, and no players spoke to the media after the game. They have also been notably quiet on social media since Wednesday,