After bowing out of the Club World Cup, Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola now wants to focus on rest and preparing for the new season.
City dominated possession, shots on goal, and shots on target far more than their opponent. But despite their control, they struggled to be effective in front of goal. Following their shocking loss to Al Hilal, Guardiola expressed one main regret — missing chances in the first half.
In a thrilling match at Florida’s Camping World Stadium early Tuesday morning (Bangladesh time), Saudi club Al Hilal stunned City 4-3 after extra time to reach the quarter-finals.
City, the defending 2023 Club World Cup champions, started strong, taking the lead in the 9th minute through Bernardo Silva’s goal.
But Al Hilal quickly fought back. Marcos Leonardo equalized early in the second half, and shortly after, Malcolm gave Al Hilal the lead. Erling Haaland leveled for City just three minutes later. The score remained 2-2 at the end of regulation.
In extra time, Al Hilal went ahead again in the 94th minute with a goal from Kalidou Koulibaly. Phil Foden equalized for City in the 104th minute, but Leonardo’s second goal in the 112th minute sealed an incredible win for Al Hilal.
City held the ball for 69% of the match and took 30 shots, 14 on target, but converted only 3. Al Hilal managed just 17 shots, 6 on target — but that was enough to secure victory under Simone Inzaghi’s leadership.
Throughout the match, Al Hilal’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou repeatedly frustrated City’s attackers with brilliant saves.
After the game, Guardiola candidly admitted his team’s attack lacked finishing.
“At the end of the day, we have to score and be effective. They didn’t create many chances in the first half; we did — but we failed to finish. I thought we would advance.”
City had scored 13 goals in their three group matches this tournament, conceding only 2. Guardiola, who previously won this tournament twice with Barcelona and once with Bayern Munich, had a perfect 11-0 record as a coach in Club World Cup matches, conceding only 4 goals in total. But this time, in 120 minutes, City conceded 4 goals.
Guardiola’s goal had been to go further in the tournament, but after this exit, he now plans to rest and focus on the upcoming season.
“It would have been nice to progress further — it’s not easy to be here once every four years. Everyone in the team still feels like we’re doing well. But now we’re going home. It’s time to rest, refresh the mind, and come back for the next season.”
