Frustrated Rodri sends clear message to Man City teammates ahead of Chelsea FA Cup clash
Manchester City star Rodri has insisted his side have little time to pick themselves up from their Champions League elimination ahead of the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Saturday.
City were knocked out of Europe’s top competition by Madrid on Wednesday night, losing a penalty shootout after the tie finished 4-4 over two legs. Pep Guardiola’s side now have just two days to prepare for the clash against the Blues at Wembley Stadium.
Rodri said: “We will have to digest the loss but we will have to wake up, stand up. We still have two more competitions to play for.
“We need the mentality (to be) positive, to find any ambition that right now is difficult to find. Tomorrow we will find it and go against Chelsea, try to be in another final and fight for the Premier League.”
Rodri could not hide his frustration following the loss to Madrid and bemoaned the Spanish side’s tactics. “To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended (well). They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are,” he said.
“But in my opinion we should go through with that amount of chances but this is the trick of this competition. They know how to play it. We congratulate them.
“We gave everything, there is nothing to regret. This is football sometimes. This shows how difficult it is to win it, as we did last season. It was very frustrating and sometimes it is difficult to explain.”
City’s exit from the competition they won with a Rodri goal in Istanbul last year, coupled with Arsenal’s loss to Bayern Munich, means there are no English semi-finalists for the first time since 2020.
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