Guardiola admits Manchester City needs a rebuild after being knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, calling it their “worst year” in the competition.
Pep Guardiola acknowledged that Manchester City need a rebuild after being eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid, with Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick leading to a 6-3 aggregate defeat in the knockout phase. Real Madrid won 3-1 in the second leg on Wednesday, but the damage had already been done in the first leg when City lost 3-2 at home, conceding two late goals.
This marks the third time in four seasons that City have been knocked out by the Spanish giants, and it’s the first time since Guardiola’s arrival in 2016 that City has failed to reach the last 16 of the competition. City had narrowly advanced through the group stage, finishing 22nd in the 36-team table.
“The better team won,” Guardiola told Spanish TV station Movistar. “We’ve had a bad year in the competition. If you finish 22nd, it’s because we haven’t been right. It has been our worst year.”
Injuries have played a significant role in City’s struggles this season. Erling Haaland was sidelined due to a knee injury and didn’t make an appearance in Madrid, while John Stones was forced off early in the match.
City’s lone goal in the second leg came from January signings Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush, with Gonzalez tapping in after Marmoush’s free-kick struck the crossbar.
Guardiola said that the rebuild process was already underway, pointing to the £170 million ($214 million) spent in the winter transfer window on new signings, including Marmoush, Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Vitor Reis.
“It’s normal. Nothing lasts forever, and in the group, there are players who have marked an era,” Guardiola added. “We cannot deny what this group of players have done, winning six Premier League titles in seven years given what that competition is. In Europe, always getting to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, final. It says a lot about what we’ve done.”
Guardiola also praised Real Madrid, noting that this version of Carlo Ancelotti’s team was the best he had faced. “This year we faced the best Madrid. In the previous ones, going through or not, we were very good. They are better because they can hold the ball for long spells, defend well with a high line when needed, but also defend well with men behind the ball. You have to congratulate them.”
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