Rodri and Jack Grealish have outlined how Manchester City players responded to the Real Madrid exit this week by channelling their efforts into beating Newcastle in the Premier League.
City suffered late Champions League heartbreak with 89th and 91st-minute goals snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and the players looked devastated at full time in Madrid. They mostly kept a low profile on social media and publicly in the following days, and returned to action with a much-needed 5-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday, to take a three-point lead in the Premier League.
Before the game, Pep Guardiola admitted the squad were low after the Madrid trip, and after the win goalscorer Rodri admitted it was a tough experience.
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Rodri told Match of the Day: "It was like a war, a big battle in the brain. You keep thinking about what happened. It's tough. You wait eight months for the moment to arrive and then in the last minute it is gone."
He told Sky Sports: "We show the personality we have after the defeat. Incredible for us, football is like this, we have to wake up. You have two titles to fight, you have to stay focussed on the Premier League. We had one point, now three points. We have to keep thinking the same way. We lost in Madrid because football is like this. The personality we showed today after what happened was incredible.
"It's emotional, it's a vital win. For us, the mood wasn't very high as you can see. Now we're switched on from Friday, we wake up, focus on the game. We've done unbelievable work. That's what champions do."
Grealish expanded on Rodri's comments, admitting that City were under pressure to bounce back.
"We knew it would be pressure on us today, especially after what happened in midweek," he said.
"We bounced back perfectly, stuck together as a team in the last few days which was needed. We try to end the season strongly and we've done that today."
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