Pep Guardiola makes feelings clear on Bernardo Silva red card after Man City defeat to Real Madrid

Silva protested his innocence but still received his marching orders, with Vinicius Jr making amends for last week's penalty miss by scoring from 12 yards.

Real went on to win 2-1 on the night, and 5-1 on aggregate, as they continue their charge towards a 16th Champions League crown.

Guardiola, speaking after the game, discussed the incident and refused to blame Silva for his side's failure to go through.

“Come on, it’s not a mistake. It’s the first red card of his career. It’s an instinctive action," he said.

“It’s not one that can be avoidable. Okay, now I’d say let them score and try 11 v 11 4-0 down. It will be difficult but see what happens.

“Never ever I will blame my player for that especially Bernardo after what he has done for us for many years.”

City, to their credit, were able to level the match when Erling Haaland struck from close range.

With Guardiola's team needing more goals, however, it was surpising to see the Norway international withdrawn.

Guardiola explained that he hooked Haaland with Sunday's Carabao Cup final with Arsenal in mind, with City eager to win some silverware this season.

“We had two or three chances to make it 2-1 early in the second half, but after 15 or 20 minutes, I wanted fresh legs and other people,” he stated.

City have won just one Champions League title during Guardiola's decade in the dugout.

He insists their inability to win the crown more isn't a problem, however, suggesting that expectations are lower at the Etihad than they are compared to other European giants.

He continued: “For the way we started and the way we played, I would have loved to play 11 against 11, but in football these circumstances happen.

“We have been in other finals, a lot of semi-finals and unfortunately in the last two editions of the Champions League we have been out.

"But this club, we arrived to set the bar a little bit high in terms of Champions League, and we didn’t achieve that, always this is not a good thing, but it’s fine, that is good.

“I would love the club to have the feeling that Madrid has; if you don’t win the Champions League, it’s a failure. That is pressure. But not [at] Man City.”

Real boss Alvaro Arbeloa, meanwhile, was delighted with his side's performance.

“It’s the players who have turned this situation around with their performance, attitude, effort, talent, and quality," he said.

"Winning as we have today is not easy in such a challenging tie against a team like this, with so many talented players, a deep squad, and a coach like the one we faced.

"Very few people would have said that we would win both matches, so thanks to the players’ work, they deserve it for how they are working and the effort they are putting in.”

“I don’t think it has been anything different from what I’ve been doing these past two months, which is working and trying to get the best performance out of my players, ensuring they feel comfortable on the pitch, finding the best position for each one, being a very balanced and united team, and having everyone sacrifice and work together.

"The players have perfectly understood that to defeat anyone, we must be a great team, very united in effort and work.”