After the surprising elimination of Manchester Cityat the hands of To the Hilal In the round of 16 of the Club World Cup 2025, Pep Guardiola He gave a message between self -criticism and the recognition of his team’s effort.
Although he avoided referring directly to the arbitration controversy in the 96th minute -when a clear fault was sanctioned on Jérémy Doku-, The Catalan coach showed his frustration for defeat in a contest that the club had arrived with renewed expectations after an intense investment in the last market.
“We have the feeling that the team is fine, but we are going home. Now it’s time to rest and refresh the mind to make it stronger next season”he said Guardiola, which also highlighted the performance of the rival goalkeeper Yassine Bono: “We created good occasions, but Bono made incredible stops. There is nothing more to say.”
Beyond the result, he remarked that he observed “Good things” in the internal relationship of the squad and valued the preparation of the tournament by his coaching staff.
The coach also recognized the mistakes of his team in defense, especially in the face of the transitions of the Saudi team: “They punished us in the transitions, we were too open. We allowed them to create too many opportunities, something that is paid at this level.”
Although he praised the general performance, he did not dodged the question about a possible cycle closure: “A little yes. Things are not eternal. We have won six Premier League in seven years. If this were Barça or Madrid they would have already fired me, but here it didn’t even consider.”
With this fall by 4-3he City He completed a season without titles and with several open fronts for the future. Between changes in the coaching staff, confirmed outputs such as Juanma Lillo and a new cycle to build, Guardiola It seems to start an internal reconstruction process.
“I’m going to lose people I love, but younger people bring energy that helps us revitalize us.”concluded, at the close of a campaign that marked the end of a golden era Manchester.
Source: Ambito
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