Manchester City defender Ruben Dias insisted his side weren’t left frustrated despite conceding three goals in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
City edged a thrilling encounter at the Etihad on Tuesday night to ensure they will take a slender advantage with them to the Bernabeu next week. Goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva helped them to a 4-3 victory, with Karim Benzema’s double and Vinicius Junior’s goal keeping the Spanish giants in the tie.
The Blues had looked to be on course to run away with the tie after racing into a 2-0 lead just 11 minutes in, but they found themselves continually pegged back by Carlo Ancelotti’s side. With just one goal separating the two sides, it’s still all to play for heading into the second leg.
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City were hit by injuries and suspensions to their back line ahead of the game, with Kyle Walker ruled out while Joao Cancelo missed out after picking up a booking in the quarter-final against Atletico Madrid. They would suffer another blow before half-time, with John Stones forced off after being selected to fill in at right-back.
Having picked up an advantage despite their growing injury list though, Dias was more than satisfied with his side’s work. The Portuguese defender insisted the Blues were unlikely to put the tie to bed in the first leg, despite threatening to early on.
“The better the result, the better for us – but with the second leg in Madrid, the tie was never going to be finished, no matter what happened here. We know exactly what’s coming,” Dias said.
“We ended up conceding three goals, which is never good for us, but I think the team did really well with all the players missing. There’s no frustration at all.
“We know who we’re playing against and they know who they’re playing against. It’s a game in which anything can happen, so we just need to be ready and we need to be focused and fighting – every single second.”
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