Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his
team is still rebuilding and needs time to regain its dominant form following
their latest UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid.
City suffered a 2-1 defeat on Tuesday, marking their
third consecutive elimination by the Spanish giants. Vinicius Junior proved
decisive, scoring twice against a City side reduced to 10 men after captain
Bernardo Silva was sent off early for handling a goal-bound effort.
The tie had already tilted heavily in Madrid’s favour
after the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Federico Valverde’s
hat-trick gave the 15-time European champions a strong advantage.
Guardiola acknowledged that the red card made it
difficult for his side to compete effectively but insisted the overall
performance was an improvement compared to last season’s heavy aggregate loss.
The City boss also highlighted that the team is
currently in transition, with Bernardo Silva among the few remaining players
from the squad that dominated English football by winning four straight Premier
League titles between 2021 and 2024.
“We are still not a complete team. There are moments
when we need to be more clinical, but I believe it’s only a matter of time,”
Guardiola said.
“I have managed a Manchester City side that was
complete in every aspect. This one is not there yet, but we have a final on
Sunday and many important games ahead.”
City will have an immediate opportunity to bounce back
as they prepare to face Arsenal in the League Cup final. However, they are
currently nine points behind the Gunners in the Premier League title race and
will also take on Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals next month.
Despite leading City to their historic Champions
League triumph in the 2022/23 season, Guardiola admitted that winning just one
European title in a decade remains a slight disappointment.
He added that he hopes the club can eventually match
Real Madrid’s elite standards, where anything less than Champions League
success is seen as failure.
“I would love this club to reach the level of Real
Madrid, where not winning the Champions League is considered a failure—that’s
real pressure,” he said.
“At City, that expectation is not there yet, but maybe
with time, we will get there.”
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