Luka Modric defends Real Madrid after Manchester City drubbing – ‘This team still has more to give’

Real Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League in emphatic fashion by Manchester City on Wednesday night, but veteran Luka Modric has defended his side. Despite talk of a changing of the guard, the Croatian believes they still have more to give.

Such was the degree of domination from City, the talk in Spain after the match was whether it was the end of a cycle at the club. Veterans Modric, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and even Dani Carvajal were being lauded as masters of the game last season, but now many are suggesting their time at the top is over.

“When Madrid lose, everything becomes very big. With each defeat there is a lot of analysis and criticism but that is why we are here. We have to live with that, we are used to it. Criticism is not going to sink us, some of it is constructive and we accept it after a defeat like this. City have been better but this team still has a lot to give,” he told Marca.

Modric should know better than most, having been in the game for so long. At various points throughout last season and all the way through their Champions League run last year, despite many fearing he was too old to do so in 2019.

“It’s sport, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Today we weren’t good and they deserved to go through. We wanted to play a good game but City were superior. You have to accept this defeat first and see what happens later, but this team has a lot to give and can still bring a lot of joy to Real Madrid without a doubt.”

Certainly the temptation after such a one-sided defeat is to react with sweeping changes, but as with their defeat to Ajax in 2019, there is a chance that Los Blancos regroup and return with improvements. It is also worth remebering that this season was always likely to be even harder for Los Blancos with more veterans in their side, and a World Cup bissecting the season.