Pep Guardiola shrugged off the shock of Manchester City’s stunning Club World Cup defeat to Al-Hilal and insisted his squad are in a good place ahead of the new Premier League season.
Defending champions City were beaten 4-3 in extra-time with the Saudi side claiming a statement win for the Pro League, and one that will no doubt delight FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
City led through an early Bernardo Silva goal but efforts from Marcos Leonardo and Malcolm just after half-time turned the game around.
Erling Haaland equalised to make it 2-2, sending the game to an extra 30 minutes.
Phil Foden cancelled out Kalidou Koulibaly’s powerful header but Leonardo scored again to restore Al-Hilal’s lead and Bono preserved their advantage with a string of brilliant saves to send City home.
‘It’s a pity this was an incredible journey’ 😅
Pep Guardiola gives his assessment after Man City are KNOCKED OUT by Al-Hilal 😬
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It is a pity – Guardiola
Guardiola’s men remain a work in progress following the acquisitions of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki and the Catalan, although disappointed with the outcome, feels they remain on the right track.
He said: “It is a pity. We have been on an incredible journey together and were in a good place. The vibe was really good.
“I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been.
“But it was a difficult game. The margins were minimal. We created a lot and Bono made incredible saves but we were so open.
“We would have loved to have continued, it will only be once every four years, and we had a feeling that the team was doing well.
“But we go home and now it is time to rest and rest our minds for the new season.”
It was a similar failing for City with Al-Hilal able to defend deep and then spring forward on the counter attack.
“In the end, we have to score and be clinical,” admitted Guardiola. “They arrived more in the transitions. They did not create much in the first half, but we did but could not finish it.
“I had a feeling we could go through but they punished us on the transitions.”
“We wanted to show that Al-Hilal deserved to be here.”
After a thrilling win against Manchester City, Kalidou Koulibaly said it loud and clear: they’re here because they deserve to be 🔥
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We climbed Everest without oxygen – Inzaghi
Guardiola’s disappointment was in stark contrast to the joy shown by Al-Hilal boss Simone Inzaghi, just a month after he suffered the humiliation of his Inter Milan side being beaten 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
He said: “The key to this result was the players, the heart they put on the pitch. We had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City are, we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great.
“Guardiola is the best coach in the world but tonight we did our best and we deserved the result.”
Inzaghi was denied a swift reunion with Inter, however, after the Serie A side were beaten 2-0 by Fluminense.
