Rodri, Man City, UCL 2021-22Getty

Rodri: Man City's Champions League exit 'like a war' they can't stop thinking about

Rodri has admitted Manchester City's dramatic Champions League exit was "like a war" following their semi-final capitulation against Real Madrid.

City blew a two-goal aggregate lead in the final minutes of the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu before they were sunk in extra-time.

A 5-0 rout of Newcastle helped Pep Guardiola's men get back to winning ways in the Premier League title race on Sunday, but speaking afterwards, Rodri admitted that the loss had been hard to stomach in Europe.

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What has Rodri said about Man City's Champions League exit?

"It was like a war, a big, big battle in the brain," Rodri told BBC Match of the Day. "You keep thinking about what happened. It's tough. You wait eight months for the moment to arrive and then, in the last minute, it is gone.

"The defeat to Real Madrid was so, so big but football is like this. You have to switch on the focus for the Premier League because it is even more difficult.

"We did brilliant today and we have to keep going. We expect nothing from Liverpool and we have to keep going. We have three finals and have to finish the season like we deserve."

What has Jack Grealish said about a response?

Elsewhere, Jack Grealish spoke about the need to deliver a performance that reflected the team's desire to bounce back with their clash against Newcastle.

"We knew there'd be pressure on us today after the defeat," he told Sky Sports. "We bounced back perfectly.

"We've stuck together which was needed. We'll try to end the season strongly and we did that today."

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