Fans of Manchester City have been left perplexed by a significant decision that Pep Guardiola made during their match against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
The reigning champions of Europe made their way to the Etihad Stadium for the first leg of the Champions League playoff match against City. The match was full of excitement and anticipation.
After missing a number of opportunities to take the lead, Madrid found themselves in a position where they were trailing after Erling Haaland scored in the nineteenth minute.
At the hour mark of the second half, Kylian Mbappe’s acrobatic effort found its way into the back of the net, bringing the team coached by Carlo Ancelotti to a tie.
In the final half an hour of the match, both teams made efforts to score the goal that would give them the lead. In the end, City was awarded a penalty kick after Dani Ceballos committed a foul on Phil Foden just inside the 18-yard box.
Haaland took the initiative to score his second goal of the game, bringing the score to 2-1 in favour of the home team.
However, City’s lead did not last long because Brahim Diaz, a former player for the club, scored a goal with four minutes remaining in the 90th minute to tie the score at 2-2.
In the midst of the final minutes of stoppage time, Jude Bellingham scored a goal that sealed a massive victory for his team, bringing the score to 3-2.
On social media, City supporters expressed their belief that the decision made by Guardiola to keep Bernardo Silva on the pitch may have had an effect on the outcome of the match.
“Instead of taking out Bernardo, he takes out Ake,” said one of the viewer’s comments. How come, Pep?
A different user tweeted, “Pep has made significant errors with the substitutions this season.” If Ake had not left, Bernardo would have been the one to leave.
A third supporter chimed in, asking, “Why does Pep love Bernardo so much when he really does not offer anything?”
An additional contributor wrote: “The earlier pep realises that Bernardo Silva is not that guy anymore, the better for him.”
As a fifth comment, someone asked, “Why does Pep never substitute Bernardo?”
Another fan said: “WHAT IS PEP’S OBSESSION WITH BERNARDO SILVA?”
City will return to Premier League action this weekend when they take on Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. The second leg of the match will take place at the Bernabeu the following week.
