‘For the fans it was great’ – Phil Foden left deflated despite Real Madrid thriller as Man City fail to ‘kill them off’
MANCHESTER CITY forward Phil Foden bemoaned failing to "kill off" Real Madrid following a breathtaking 4-3 victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Pep Guardiola's side led by two goals on three occasions during the epic thriller at the Etihad on Tuesday night, but on each occasion the Spanish champions-elect fought back.
And while Man City take a slender advantage to the Bernabeu for the second leg in eight days' time, Foden admits it was a missed opportunity to put the tie to bed.
Speaking to , he said: "For the fans watching it was obviously a great game of football.
"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.
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"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."
Goals from Kevin de Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Karim Benzema saw the two sides go in at half-time with City leading 2-1.
Foden then restored the hosts' two-goal cushion, before Vinicius Junior hit back again for the 13-time European champions.
A special strike from Bernardo Silva handed City a 4-2 lead with 16 minutes remaining.
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But Aymeric Laporte then headed the ball against his own outstretched arm and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Benzema stepped up to audaciously Panenka the spot kick and ensure the game finished 4-3 ahead of the return leg in Spain.
And Silva is now already looking ahead to the Bernabeu next Wednesday.
"I honestly think for the first 20 minutes we were so, so good," said the Portuguese forward.
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"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."
Before the clash in Spain, Man City travel to Elland Road to take on Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday evening.