Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has sent a message to understudy Zack Steffen after the American's costly error in the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool over the weekend.
The Sky Blues were knocked out of the FA Cup by their Premier League title rivals in almost embarrassing fashion as the Reds raced to a 3-0 lead at half-time. Following Ibrahima Konate's headed opener, Sadio Mane pounced on a moment of hesitation from stand-in keeper Steffen to virtually tackle the ball into the net.
The USA international had been preferred to first choice Ederson by Pep Guardiola, who left a number of usual starters on the bench initially. But the Brazilian has sent a supportive message to his colleague after undoubtedly the toughest moment of his career.
Replying to Steffen's Instagram post on his own story, Ederson wrote: "A mistake in football hurts, but a goalkeeper's mistake hurts more. This is our life bro." Steffen had written a reflective post alongside a picture of himself appearing to apologise.
He shared: "Trials and tribulations, failures and successes. That’s life. Yesterday’s game is a tough pill to swallow, all we can do is get back up and grow from it. Thank you to all the fans who made the trip. We will work hard to make you guys proud. We move forward."
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City boss Guardiola defended his player after the match, stating: "It was an accident. One of the strong points is try to play [out] and as a keeper he has this quality. It was an accident and he will learn for the future. When the ball is there it can always happen. I have spoken with the team, not him personally, but he is strong.”
Guardiola also played down any claims that his players appeared tired at Wembley, adding: “Our momentum was there in the second half. We had the chances to equalise. It was a difficult fixture because we came from somewhere like only we know where we came from, with games we had and the last five or six days days away and people with the problems.
"The guys put in a lot of pride in the second half. It was not a question of tired. They were more tired in the first, football is not about the tiredness it is about what you do and how it works and how you play. We finally have one or two days off. We know we have seven games and the Champions League, we are going to try to push and see what happens.”
City remain in the hunt for the Premier League and Champions League titles this season. The Sky Blues are just a single point ahead of Liverpool in the league, while they will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals of Europe.
