‘I think’: Gary Lineker says Man City were ‘unlucky’ during one key point of the season

Manchester City have had their fair share of ups and downs throughout their latest season.

After winning the UEFA SuperCup and the FIFA Club World Cup, the Blues went on to lift their sixth Premier League title in seven years.

Unfortunately, however, City were unable to regain the FA Cup and the Champions League after their Treble-winning season.

Now that the season has ended, one pundit has made a claim about one specific point of City’s latest campaign.

Gary Lineker says City were unlucky against Real Madrid

Speaking in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football, Lineker had this to say on the subject of City being knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid on penalties in the quarter-final stage.

He said: “I think they were unlucky in Europe, in a way. I think they were the better team [vs Real Madrid], but that can happen.”

In the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, City got themselves ahead on two occasions but ultimately walked away with a 3-3 draw thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden.

Then in the second leg, with a 1-1 draw after extra time, Pep Guardiola’s side lost on penalties to Real, who eventually made it to the final against Borussia Dortmund.

Man City dominated Real Madrid in the second leg

Looking back over that second-leg showdown at the Etihad Stadium, City had 67% possession and racked up 33 shots at goal in total across the 120 minutes before the penalty shootout.

In fact, Real winger, Rodrygo, who scored the Spanish club’s only goal at the Etihad on the night, has since admitted that City were the better team on that occasion, in addition to saying they are the best team in the world and play the best football.

With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why Lineker reckons the Manchester club were unlucky to not get through to the semi-final stage of the competition.