John Stones reveals what Pep Guardiola told Manchester City players after Real Madrid defeat | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola left a very clear message to his Manchester City squad after yet another collapse in European competition, this time losing to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

The Premier League champions succumbed to yet another hugely disappointing comeback defeat across all competitions in midweek, and not for the first time in the Champions League this season.

Having led Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 in the French capital before losing 4-2 on matchday seven, and a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord ending in a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City would endure a similar fate on Tuesday night.

An Erling Haaland penalty in the closing exchanges against Real Madrid put Manchester City 2-1 ahead following an opener from the Norwegian and an equalising goal from Kylian Mbappe early in the second-half.

However, lapses in defensive concentration and poor decision making at the back on more than one occasion led to further goals for Real Madrid from former Manchester City attacker Brahim Diaz, and a winning effort from Jude Bellingham.

Speaking to TV broadcasters after Madrid’s 2-3 win over City this week, John Stones revealed the message that was left to him and his teammates by a frustrated Pep Guardiola in the dressing room post-match.

“We need to see games out better, for sure. The manager (Pep Guardiola) just said we need to take accountability for what we do on the pitch and I think we do,” Stones said.

He continued, “We’ve got to step up when bad moments happen in games and we had a great opportunity to maybe go to the Bernabeu 2-1 up, and we’ve come away now needing a goal to get level.

“It’s not done, we have to stay positive which is difficult right now, but we’ve got to review the game, look at ourselves, and hold ourselves accountable.”

Discussing the game as a whole in further detail, the Manchester City defender – who operated in defensive midfield successfully against Carlo Ancelotti’s said – went on to say, “How we started, especially first-half we were on top.

“We know the quality Madrid have got and know they’re going to come out second-half and they’ve done that. What happened is avoidable from us as the 11 on the pitch and we’ve got to do better, simple as that.

“I’m the first to hold my hands up and look at what I can do better from the next game. We have to keep a positive mentality, look forward and we’ve got another 90 minutes to put this right.”

Manchester City have just one game between now and their return clash against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital, as they host Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.