Ruud Gullit says he ‘feels sorry’ for one Man City man after Real Madrid loss, it wasn’t his fault

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While the tie is far from over yet, Manchester City’s 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid has certainly dented their chances of qualifying for the Champions League Round of 16.

Ederson Moraes’ display against Real Madrid was slated as the hosts made far too many individual errors at the Etihad Stadium and gave themselves a tall task of beating Real Madrid away from home next week.

After Erling Haaland dispatched his second goal of the evening to hand Manchester City a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute, it seemed like a famous night in the Champions League was written in the stars for the Premier League champions.

But Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham fired Real Madrid back into the contest and reminded the world that Los Blancos are always ready to capitalise in Europe if the chances are presented to them.

Pep Guardiola seemingly did everything in his power to outthink Carlo Ancelotti — making the surprising tactical tweak of not just starting John Stones as a defensive midfielder but tasking Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji to tuck into the middle of the park when his side were on the ball as well — a ploy that was certainly working for them.

But far too often this campaign, Guardiola has been powerless as his City players seem far too mentally fragile to see games out — as was the case against Real Madrid.

Ruud Gullit says he feels bad for Pep Guardiola after Man City vs Real Madrid

Time and again this season, the English giants have faltered when trying to hold leads — with their late capitulation against Manchester United, Feyenoord, Brentford and Paris Saint-Germain standing out.

Real Madrid added to City’s heartache this season, with the banner mocking Vinicius Jr backfiring on some section of the home supporters as their Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread now.

After Manchester City’s latest setback, Ruud Gullit admitted that the one man at the Etihad Stadium who he felt bad for is none other than Pep Guardiola.

Gullit said on beIN SPORTS: “I feel sorry for Pep [Guardiola]. Look I really do feel sorry for him.”

“Because of the mistakes, what is his fault from these mistakes? What could he do about any of it? They’re not willing to run anymore, and he gets silly mistakes.”

Jack Grealish’s injury against Real Madrid added to Guardiola’s woes in what was a forgettable night for the Catalan tactician as he now looks ahead to his side’s clash against Newcastle this Saturday.

What Guardiola said he’s “not good enough” to do after Man City lost to Real Madrid

In the aftermath of the contest, Pep Guardiola had his say on Manchester City’s constant failure of seeing games out successfully.

In Guardiola’s view, he cannot do much to stop City from conceding needless late goals and collapsing.

The Spaniard said via talkSPORT: “I said months ago; I’m not good enough to give something, the composure of the team and how to manage these kind of situations.”

At the end of the day, Pep Guardiola is not on the pitch and as he rightly suggested, the onus is on the players to remain composed and not let the opposition back into games.