In a season full of setbacks, Manchester City defeat at the hands of Real Madrid was a devastating blow to the team. It also handed Pep Guardiola an undesirable personal milestone.
With a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe and a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, City were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League. After dominating the home leg, Carlo Ancelotti’s team advanced to the round of 16 with ease.
Omar Marmoush’s hat-trick in the team’s thrilling 4-0 victory over Newcastle over the weekend gave City supporters hope before the journey to the Bernabeu, but their hopes were swiftly dashed.
According to The Mirror, this was City’s earliest Champions League exit since the 2012-13 campaign when they were unable to advance from the group stage.
See Also: Premier League Receives Huge Boost In Race For Extra UCL Place Next Season
Surprisingly, the Cityzens had already lost 13 games this season, which is the most losses a team under Guardiola has ever had in a single season during his managerial career with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and City.
In a blatant acknowledgement of their squad’s weakness, City acquired Vitor Reis, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Marmoush during the January transfer window.
Guardiola signed a new two-year deal in November, putting an end to rumors surrounding his future. As he already has his sights set on rebuilding his team.
COMMENTS