“I didn’t even touch him — he just laid down and started snoring, I swear.”

Man City didn’t seem terribly interested in reaching the club’s first ever Champions League final as they sleepwalked to letting Real Madrid advance on a 1–0 aggregate score. The one being a Fernando own goal in the 20th minute of the second leg. City also had just one shot on target in each leg. So you can’t even say “at least they tried” because they kind of didn’t.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for City to not appear super eager to play in the match every player dreams of. It’s in Milan this year and that’s pretty far away. Plus it’s on a Saturday that could be better spent on any number of DIY projects at home. And the food is so good in Italy that you never want to come back at the end of the trip. And they already won the Capital One Cup this season, which is basically the same thing. And making it farther in the competition than the manager you already hired for next season would just be awkward.

But most of all, Diego Simeone is in the final. Waiting. And Man City would like to live to see June.

https://www.gettyimages.com/

So you can’t blame them, really.