Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shared his thoughts on why his team lost to Al Hilal in the second round of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
The 2023 Champions League winners suffered a shocking 4-3 loss to Simone Inzaghi’s Al Hilal in a pulsating affair in Orlando on Monday night.
Despite taking an early lead, albeit controversial, Al Hiall masterminded a remarkable comeback courtesy of a brace from Brazilian winger Marcos Leonardo and the goalkeeping heroics of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
The Moroccan goalkeeper made 10 saves from Manchester City’s 14 shots on goal in the match to help his team secure a famous win over one of the tournament’s favorites.
Reacting to the loss in a post-match analysis, Guardiola said his team allowed Al-Hilal a lot of transitions, even though his team created more.
He added that he is impressed with the performance of the team and has seen a lot of things that were absent in the past.
We allowed them [Al Hilal] to create transitions but we created a lot and in general we were good. “It’s a pity. We were in such a good place and I can’t not say thank you to the staff, how they trained and prepared, they have given everything. “I have the feeling the team is doing well, but we go home and now it’s time to rest and refresh our mind and come back next season
I saw many good things [from #ManCity] that I didn’t see in the past, especially where we were, the relations between players and staff. I felt we were happy here [in the US] and the sessions were really good, but the levels here are so high…
The loss to Al Hilal is Pep Guardiola’s first in 12 FIFA Club World Cup games having won his previous 11.
Despite having a one-hundred percent record in the group stage, Manchester City’s title defense came to an end after a 4-3 loss to the Saudi Pro League side, who will now face Fluminense in the last eight of the competition.
The Brazilian side kicked out this year’s Champions League finalist, Inter Milan, from the competition after a 2-0 win at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
