Man City fans blamed for Bernardo Silva penalty miss in Real Madrid defeat

Manchester City fans have been criticised for causing Bernardo Silva to miss a crucial penalty in the shootout against Real Madrid. The home supporters held onto the ball for 40 seconds before it was eventually thrown down to the pitch, leaving Bernardo waiting at the penalty spot.

His subsequent penalty was saved by Madrid’s goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, contributing to City’s exit from the competition. The match ended 4-4 on aggregate, with City missing two of their five penalties – the other being Mateo Kovacic.

Julian Alvarez had initially given City hope by scoring the opening penalty, and Ederson further boosted their chances by denying Luka Modric. However, after Kovacic’s miss, Real Madrid scored four perfect penalties, with Antonio Rudiger securing their victory and a semi-final clash with Bayern Munich.

Reflecting on the match, former City star Joleon Lescott highlighted the impact of the delay Bernardo Silva faced before taking his penalty. Speaking to TNT Sports, he remarked: “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.”

Rio Ferdinand chimed in with a pointed observation: “Forty seconds by the way Joleon.”

Lescott elaborated further: “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.”

Ferdinand expressed disappointment at the situation, noting: “It’s a shame though as well, because it is the home fans that are delaying that penalty kick which is a shame.”

Despite an early setback from Rodrygo’s goal, City controlled much of the game. Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser at 77 minutes rewarded their efforts, levelling the score at 1-1, yet a second goal eluded Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Guardiola reflected without regret, stating: “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.”