Man City fans blamed for Champions League exit after act that will ‘go down in history’ as Ferdinand brands it a ‘shame’
MANCHESTER CITY fans were to blame for Bernardo Silva’s penalty miss against Real Madrid according to former England stars Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott.
Pep Guardiola‘s side crashed out of the Champions League following a 4-3 defeat on penalties to Los Blancos on Wednesday.
A penalty shootout to forget for Man City
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Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both missed spot-kicks for City at the Etihad Stadium.
Silva’s attempt was deemed particularly bad, with some fans even branding it the “worst penalty” they had ever seen.
However, Ferdinand and Lescott believed the City fans behind the goal were to blame for his botched effort.
Speaking on TNT Sports, ex-Man City star Lescott claimed the home supporters held onto the ball for too long after Luka Modric fired his shot into the stands.
He said: “That would have just took him out of sync and out of his rhythm.
“You can practice the routine, the technique, the walk up potentially, this is something you don’t prepare for, the ball being in the crowd.”
Ferdinand chimed in: “40 seconds by the way Joleon,” before Lescott continued: “That is a long time. It may not seem that long but it’s a very long time when you are waiting there and you are thinking, now do I change position?
“Now do I change where I go? And all of a sudden, it’s a soft penalty.”
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Manchester United legend Ferdinand went on to say: “It’s a shame though as well, because it is the home fans that are delaying that penalty kick which is a shame.”
Fans on social media were also convinced the Man City supporters were to blame for Silva’s miss.
One person took to X to write: “City fans not giving the ball back to Bernardo Silva will go down in history – if football fans did own goals.”
Another commented: “How must the Man City fan who kept hold of the ball before Bernardo Silva’s penalty be feeling now.”
While a third wrote: “City fans screwed themselves over holding onto the ball as long as they did before Bernardo Silva’s pen!”
The Champions League quarter-final clash went to penalties with the score at 4-4 on aggregate after extra time.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola said: “It is what is – sometimes you win on penalties and sometimes not. We should have done it before – for how we played.
“I absolutely don’t have any regrets – we did everything offensively and defensively.
“Football is about scoring goals and they did it a little bit better than us from the penalty spot. They are in the semi-finals and we are not.
“I have to say from my heart, thank you to my players.”