There are ways of losing, and Pep Guardiola made clear that this one, in a game his team dominated, in a shootout they threw away, was acceptable and that he had made his peace with it.
All but a small handful of Manchester City players and staff had already retired to the dressing room, dazed and doubtless a little confused about what had just unfolded, by the time Bernardo Silva started his slow trudge off the pitch.
Manager offered congratulations to Real Madrid and said his team should have won prior to the penalty shootout.