Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand refused to be critical of Manchester City following their heartbreaking Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.
Heading into the closing stages of the contest 1-0 up on the night and 5-3 ahead on aggregate, City and their supporters were starting to plan their trips to Paris to face Liverpool in the final. However, Madrid, out of nowhere, scored twice in less than two minutes, courtesy of a Rodrygo brace, to lead 2-1 on the night and make it 5-5 on aggregate.
With their tails up and the crowd behind them, Madrid completed one of the most famous semi-final comebacks the Champions League has ever witnessed in extra-time via the penalty spot. Karim Benzema was fouled and stepped up to stroke home his 43rd goal of the season and put Madrid in front in the tie for the very first time.
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Despite City's best efforts, they were unable to source the goal that would have forced the contest to a penalty shoot-out, meaning Madrid progressed to the final, booking a date with Liverpool later this month. But whilst it was a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking conclusion for City, they are not the first side to have been beaten by Madrid's late heroics this season.
The Spanish side came from behind to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the competition in the last-16 and required an extra-time goal from Benzema to send Chelsea packing in the quarter-finals. With that in mind, plus Madrid's history of raising their game in the Champions League, Ferdinand refused to be harsh of City in his post-match assessment.
"This team [Madrid] has been comfortable suffering," Ferdinand told BT Sport. "They have beaten PSG and Chelsea, they were suffering in those games and not in one minute did they panic.
"We have witnessed a stadium take the life out of a team. This is Manchester City, the best team in the land, top of the Premier League, fighting with Liverpool, and you saw the weight of history, the size of the stadium... it played its part today and I don't care who you are, sometimes situations like this can't be helped.
"Just listen to these fans!"
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