Micah Richards’ Champions League quarter-final predictions came back to haunt him (Picture: Getty)
Micah Richards had an absolute nightmare with his predictions ahead of this year’s Champions League quarter-finals, with all four of his picks for the semi-finals getting eliminated.
Real Madrid overcame the holders Manchester City on penalties at the Etihad and Bayern Munich saw off Arsenal at the Allianz Arena to ensure no Premier League teams remain in the competition heading into the penultimate round.
A day earlier, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund both overturned first-leg deficits to secure their place in the last four, beating Barcelona and Atletico Madrid respectively on a pulsating night of drama.
Madrid’s victory in Manchester – via a nerve-jangling shootout – ended City’s hopes of completing back-to-back trebles and Pep Guardiola’s men now have just three days to regroup before their FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea at Wembley.
While previewing the quarter-finals, Richards managed to get all of his predictions wrong after backing City, Arsenal, Barca and Atleti to make it through to the next stage, seemingly giving the four teams the kiss of death.
Unsurprisingly, the CBS Sports clip of Richards’ wayward predictions immediately began doing the rounds after Wednesday night’s action came to an end, with the ex-City star coming in for a fair amount of stick across social media.
Speaking shortly after Madrid’s win, Jude Bellingham further stuck the knife into Richards as he reminded the former England defender of a bet they had made prior to the quarter-final.
Asked whether he had a message for Richards, Bellingham replied: ‘Yeah, he’s still meant to be wearing the Madrid shirt after the little wager we had so it’s disappointing not to see that.
‘Hopefully we’ll see it for the semi-final!’
Bellingham added: ‘Massive game, massive result for us in the end, taking it to penalties and getting the job done there.
‘We won with fine margins to be very clear. In the game, they [City] were definitely dominant and we had to do what it took to stay in the game and take it to penalties.
‘It’s one of those where it’s not like we’ve won and dominated and destroyed the game, but we did what it took to win.
‘Everyone had them down as favourites but we know what we’re capable of, we know the qualities we have in the dressing room and we showed it today.’
Richards predicted Manchester City would defend their Champions League crown (CBS Sports)
Analysing City’s defeat in the CBS Sports studio, Richards insisted he felt no ‘bitterness’ and reserved special praise for Madrid’s ‘proper, proper talent’ Bellingham.
‘I think you can’t always win it. Man City, of course, were the dominant team but it matters at the end, doesn’t it? That is the difference,’ he said.
‘It went to penalties, it was 50-50 on the night, Real Madrid got the win.
Like Thierry [Henry] said, they defended so well. I think Manchester City will just be frustrated within themselves.
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‘To dominate the game like that and not put their chances away, when you’ve got players like [Erling] Haaland on the field, who we have talked about so highly, not managing to make a proper impact in the game.
‘[Phil] Foden at times was isolated on that right-hand side. He went into the middle in the second half and looked a lot better. Kevin De Bruyne got the goal as well. I thought Kyle Walker did really well with Vinicius Junior.
‘But that man, Bellingham, he didn’t stop running all night. He is a proper, proper talent. There’s no bitterness from me at the end of the day.’
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