After last week’s pulsating 3-3 draw in Madrid, Pep Guardiola‘s men welcomed the Spanish giants to a packed and raucous Etihad Stadium.
However, the visitors made the better start, taking the lead through Rodrygo after 12 minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne levelled on the night and on aggregate with just under 15 minutes left to play, with both sides unable to find a crucial winner in the remainder of normal time and 30 minutes of extra time.
Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic were the unlucky players to see their spot-kicks saved by Andriy Lunin as Carlo Ancelotti’s side secured a 4-3 victory on penalties.
“I don’t even really know what to say. It’s just frustrating,” said Dias after the game. “We dominated the game, the whole game.
“In the end, you go to penalties, but the effort was there. We had our chances. It’s obviously a difficult one to take.
Of course, the way we controlled the game, you do everything to avoid going to penalties because in a way it’s what they wanted.
“But yeah, it’s difficult to take it. There’s only one way, the way is forward.
“You have many ways to look at it. From our side, we look at what we could do better. The team was there. We fought and had our chances. I guess it was not our day.
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“We had the chances. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. But, we now have to look forward to what is still to come in the season.”
The Blues are still battling for two major trophies, starting with this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
Dias is eager for the team to dust themselves off and go again ahead of the crucial encounter at Wembley Stadium.
“We won’t have much time to rest. It’s a busy part of the season,” he declared.
“We know that now is the moment to be strong, especially in the head, now that we’re fighting for two very important competitions.”
