'They overwhelmed us' - Real Madrid players rue Man City intensity in Champions League semi-final

Manchester City 'overwhelmed' Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg, Spanish defender Dani Carvajal says.

City and Madrid had shared a high-quality 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu last week, setting up a one-game shootout at the Etihad on Wednesday. City came out of the blocks quicker and produced a sensational display - especially in the first half - to beat Champions League experts Real 4-0 on the night to set up a final in Istanbul with Inter Milan.

Real looked devoid of any ideas all evening, even when they had more of the ball in the second half, and defender Carvajal admitted that his side just couldn't cope with City's attacking intensity.

ALSO READ: How Man City players were challenged in dressing room before Real Madrid

After City inflicted Real's joint-heaviest away defeat in the Champions League era, Carvajal said: "We played a rival who were better than us in this match - they pretty well overwhelmed us.

"We can recognise that City were better, we were lacking something. It wasn't attitude we were lacking but we allowed ourselves to be pressed back too much. In the second half, we had our best moments. We knew that City were very strong at home but after the first leg we were left with the feeling that we could be better than this here – better on the ball. We are Madrid; we'll come back stronger and we'll work really hard next season to be back at this stage of the tournament."

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who produced two stunning saves at 0-0 and another before City's third, also rued how City imposed their game, preventing Real from carrying out any kind of game plan.

He explained: "I don’t think the way City started was a surprise to us, we were expecting a burst of pressure: