Phil Foden admitted Manchester City were frustrated at letting Real Madrid back into the Champions League semi-final tie.
On three occasions City had a two-goal advantage at the Etihad, but a Karim Benzema-inspired Real kept themselves in it despite Pep Guardiola’s side earning a thrilling 4-3 win.
Foden was on target in the second-half to make it 3-1 to the home side, only for Vinicius Junior to halve the deficit less than two minutes later, and it’s a result that Real will be relieved with going into next week’s match in Madrid.
“For the fans watching it was obviously a great game of football,” Foden told BT Sport.
“We are playing a side that have won the Champions League many times and if we give the ball away they are going to punish us. It is something we need to work on in the second leg. The tie is still on.
“It was a great game. End to end. We started really well and could have killed them off. In these games, we need to take more chances.”
Bernardo Silva lashed home from the edge of the box with 15 minutes remaining as City moved 4-2 ahead, but once again they were pegged back as Benzema stepped up to the penalty spot and dinked a perfect panenka down the middle.
It all came after a sensational start from City, that saw them take a 2-0 lead with barely more than ten minutes on the clock thanks to Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus. Silva wanted to focus on the positives, of which there were plenty for City.
“I honestly think for the first 20 minutes we were so, so good,” Silva said.
“The way we pressed, the way we controlled the game and created chances. Over the 90 minutes it felt like we could have won by a better score.
“Unfortunately we were not able to take advantage of our two-goal differences that we had three times. It is the Champions League, we play one of the best teams in the world. It is still a good result. On to the next game.
“It was a good game. Our fans should be proud of us and the work we did. We could have scored more but this football. They took their chances.”
