Still a lot to play for – Man City’s Jeremy Doku remains upbeat after Euro exit
City were knocked out 5-1 on aggregate despite a spirited showing with 10 men at the Etihad.
Jeremy Doku insists Manchester City’s level remains high despite their Champions League exit compounding a deflating week.
City were all but eliminated from the European competition last week when they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their last-16 tie against Real Madrid.
Despite a spirited effort they were unable to retrieve the situation and went out 5-1 overall following a battling 2-1 loss – after playing most of the game with 10 men – at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
With a damaging draw at West Ham between the two Real encounters leaving them trailing Premier League leaders Arsenal by nine points, it has been a frustrating period for City.
They now need to lift themselves before facing the Gunners in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, but winger Doku is convinced spirit is intact.
The Belgian said: “We played well. We played well with 11 against 11 and 10 against 11. We created chances.
“I feel like if we play like that every game we’ll put many teams in trouble. There are some good things to take out of this game to the next one.
“There’s still a lot to play for. We’re still in three competitions, three trophies to win. If we do that it’s still going to be a great season.
“Of course we’re disappointed with the Champions League, it’s always a nice trophy to have, but there are some lessons to take out of these two games.
“We have to recover well and we’re looking forward to the next games that we have.”
Attention now turns to Sunday’s cup final, which Doku described as “a good cure” as City look to put their European woes behind them.
“We’ll do everything to win that game and to win a trophy,” he said.
City started brightly but suffered a decisive setback when captain Bernardo Silva was sent off after 20 minutes for handling a Vinicius Junior shot on the line.
Vinicius scored the resulting penalty and, although City levelled through Erling Haaland and finished with 22 shots on goal, the task proved beyond them.
Vinicius finished them off with his second goal in stoppage time.
Doku said Silva had the full backing of the dressing room.
“Obviously he’s disappointed,” he said. “Knowing him, I know he takes it very personally.
“But even after it, we stood there, we were in the game. He’s disappointed but we’re all there for him. We know his contribution to the team is massive.
“We can be proud of our performance. Playing against a big team like that, 10 against 11, and still performing like we did, still putting them into trouble. Not every team can do that.”
