Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admitted his side committed too many mistakes in this year's Champions League campaign, throwing away any chances of qualifying from the group of death.
City played resolutely in the second half to comeback from a goal down and hold Real Madrid 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium; but in a must-win game, the draw was not enough as the English Premier League champions crashed out after the group stages for the second year in succession.
"I think that in the first half they played better than us," Mancini said. "We missed one or two chances. The first chance they got, they scored. We made a mistake, we had five defenders against two, and they scored.
"When you start like that it is difficult. I don't know what the difference was in the second half, we were 1-0 down and had nothing to lose. We pushed up further and played better.
"We lost it in the first few games, at Madrid, Dortmund at home and in Amsterdam against Ajax. We made some mistakes. In Madrid we were 2-1 up with five minutes to go; in Amsterdam we were 1-0 up and missed chances to win the game. I hope we will have this experience now for next year.
"I am disappointed to go out, like everyone here. When we started this group we knew it was difficult. We are a good team, but we went and made mistakes, and this is the Champions League. We are a good team, but you can lose to teams like Madrid and Dortmund. This can happen, but we wanted to go to the next stage."
While many players and managers alike might think the Europa League is a bit of a distraction when you are chasing the Premier League title, Mancini, while praising the supporters, insisted he would like to qualify for the Europa League if possible, meaning they will have to beat Dortmund in Germany on the last matchday, while hoping Ajax drop points against Real Madrid.
"The fans are always fantastic," he added. "They understand that we are disappointed like them and for us they are really important. We want to be in the Europa League if possible."
Real manager Jose Mourinho felt his side could have won the game, but was eventually happy to just seal passage into the knockout rounds. "My players worked very hard, they played a good game," the Portuguese said. "We have won the point that has put us in the next round. It is important that we have achieved qualification with one game to spare.
"I think we should have won. We had plenty of chances to score the second goal, and if we had done that in the first half the game would have been over, but we did not score and they had a reaction. Then they had a penalty, and we had a man sent off. In those conditions we had to go for the point which would get us through."
With Borussia Dortmund winning 4-1 at Ajax, the Germans ensured top spot in Group D, meaning Real could face a potential big team in the last-16, if the draw goes against them. However, Mourinho said he is not too concerned about finishing second, citing the success he has enjoyed while doing so.
"Two times I have finished second and gone on to win it," Mourinho added. "I finished second with Porto behind Real Madrid; and with Inter I finished behind Barcelona and I won. I have won the group other times and I have not won. In my experience (finishing second) does not mean so much. The teams that finished first will be waiting for an opponent they think may be easier, but if they get Real Madrid that is not good news for them."
