• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Arsene Wenger Points Finger At Manchester City Substitute For Real Madrid Loss

Home> Football

Published 18:49 5 May 2022 GMT+1

Arsene Wenger Points Finger At Manchester City Substitute For Real Madrid Loss

City were heading for a second consecutive Champions League final and Wenger thinks one of Pep Guardiola's substitutions was to blame.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Arsene Wenger laid the blame for Manchester City's Champions League exit at the feet of one of Pep Guardiola's substitutions, saying Jack Grealish had much to answer for,

City looked certain to book their place in a second Champions League final in-a-row when Riyad Mahrez put them ahead against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

Advert

Just 17 minutes remained of normal time and the visitors had a two goal lead on aggregate and a final with Liverpool in Paris on May 28th looked all but booked.

However, a goal in the 90th minute and another in the first minute of injury time, both by Rodrygo, saw extra time and Karim Benzema did what he's been doing all year in the tournament, and scored the winner with a penalty in the additional 30 minutes.

At 1-0 though, no one really could have seen the comeback coming, with Real having not had a shot on target and City, like in the first leg, having plenty of chances.

Two of those fell the way of substitute Grealish, who came on just five minutes after Mahrez's goal, however it wasn't his misses in the game, but his defending left Wenger criticising the £100 million man.

Advert

"When you look at 1-1, when Grealish is against Carvajal, he is passed easily, too easily. He must absolutely fight to stop that cross,” Wenger told beIN SPORT, talking about Rodrygo's second goal.

"You do not want the ball in the box, anything can happen when everybody goes forward.

Wenger felt Grealish didn't do enough to stop the ball going into the middle. Image: PA Images
Wenger felt Grealish didn't do enough to stop the ball going into the middle. Image: PA Images

"That is where City did not secure the game, defending on the sides. Because they conceded, even when you look when Benzema gave the ball back, they didn't really attack the ball the defenders, they made big mistakes.

Advert

"When you're a manager and you lose a game, you go home and always think, 'what have I done wrong?'"

Real were somewhat lucky to still be in the game when they arrived back at the Bernabeu for the second leg, having held on to City's dominance in Manchester eight days before.

Going behind on the night meant they once again had to come from behind, having been losing in the second legs against PSG and Chelsea in the previous rounds.

Advert

As well as being critical of Grealish, Wenger also admitted Los Blancos' ability to come from behind was a huge factor, adding, "The second thing I would say is that what is surprising for me is that this team from Madrid, when they need an answer to a problem, they always find a solution.

"Let's not forget they scored six goals against City, they scored six against Chelsea. It is not always the case that City concede six goals in two games. They have something special."

The problems for Grealish didn't end after the match either, with the former Aston Villa midfielder having to delete a tweet from 2014 saying 'Hala Madrid.'

Advert

He may well be saying the same come the end of the month, when Carlo Ancelotti's side face Liverpool in the final at the Stade de France.

Jurgen Klopp's team could be gunning for an incredible quadruple if they pip City to the Premier League title, and defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

City will be hoping to finally end their European hoodoo next year.

Featured Image Credit: beIN Sport/PA

Topics: Premier League, Champions League, Manchester City, Jack Grealish, Pep Guardiola, Real Madrid

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

X

@Sidler28

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

10 mins ago
12 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • 10 mins ago

    Atletico star suffers unusual extreme heat injury at Club World Cup as major concerns raised over competition

    Atletico Madrid were beaten by Paris Saint Germain at the FIFA Club World Cup.

    Football
  • 12 mins ago

    Angel Gomes reveals 'perfect' rule Man Utd make all academy players follow that the senior team don't have

    The former Manchester United wonderkid has opened up about his time at the club.

    Football
  • an hour ago

    Fresh Man City 115 charges points deduction claim made as 'rumour' circulates over final verdict

    The verdict for Manchester City's 115 charges case with the Premier League has still not been announced despite concluding in December.

    Football
  • 2 hours ago

    Michael Olise shows no mercy with brutal comment about Auckland City after 10-0 Bayern Munich thrashing

    Michael Olise was asked if he felt bad following Bayern Munich's 10-0 victory over Auckland City.

    Football
  • Man City name their price for Jack Grealish as midfielder's preferred transfer destination emerges ahead of summer move
  • Man City 'set price' for Jack Grealish with four Premier League clubs ready to move and it looks like a typo
  • Huge Jack Grealish bombshell drops out of nowhere as Man City star's future takes major twist
  • Jack Grealish responds to troll who says he’s been bad for Man City after latest brutal Pep Guardiola decision