Slide continues for Guardiola and Man City in Champions League exit

MADRID (AP) — The search for answers will continue for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, with the manager saying he wants continue with the club but admitting that a new cycle is beginning.

Guardiola couldn’t find a way to keep City alive in the Champions League on Wednesday, when another poor performance led to a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid and a 6-3 aggregate defeat to the Spanish powerhouse in the playoffs.

“I still want to continue,” said Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension earlier in the season.

He acknowledged, though, that a new cycle is coming.

“We already started it, it's normal,” he said. “Nothing is eternal. Some players are at an age that they can still give us a lot. Nothing is forever, but we can't deny what this group of players have done, winning six Premier League titles in seven seasons and reaching the quarterfinals, semifinals and final in this competition. This time we had to play these two matches against a very strong team and they were better than us.”

At one point, Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium ironically chanted for “Guardiola to stay” with City.

Guardiola looked agitated at times while trying to convey instructions to his players. On other occasions, he looked resigned and desolate, sometimes with his hands in his pockets or with his arms crossed.

Guardiola turned around in apparent disgust after seeing Kylian Mbappé score the opening goal in the fourth minute. Guardiola went back to his bench for a few moments after the France forward added the second goal in the 33rd, and again after Mbappé completed his hat trick in the 61st. The coach took a much longer time to return to the sideline after the goal that sealed the hat trick by the France star.

When goalkeeper Ederson resorted to a long kick while under pressure in the first half, Guardiola twice turned to him with his arms spread wide, as if asking “Why?”

After the final whistle blew, Guardiola congratulated Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti before going back into the locker room.

Guardiola had not failed to reach the last 16 in his previous eight seasons with City, his three with Bayern Munich and his four with Barcelona. City had reached that stage every time since 2012-13.

“This year, for several reasons, we lost consistency,” he said. “We achieved something unique in our country and in Europe, making it to finals that we had never made it before. This year we couldn't do it. We have to learn and start to make decisions regarding the team and everything else, and try to finish in the top 4 or top 5 to have an opportunity to be back next season.”

Guardiola was hoping he could fix the team’s issues in time to avoid the early elimination this season, the first in which the league phase and the playoffs stage was introduced. But the poor performances that affected the team the whole season proved costly, as it couldn’t qualify high enough to avoid the playoffs, where it was drawn to play 15-time European champion Madrid.

“The best team won,” Guardiola said. “We've had a poor season. When you finish 22nd (in the league phase), it's a sign that you haven't played well.”

Guardiola, who led City to its first Champions League title in 2023, has been saying his team is “miles away” from where it should be, though it had showed spurts of the dominant squad that he led to a series of titles in recent years, including in the 4-0 rout of Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday.

City sits in fourth place after 25 rounds in the Premier League, 17 points behind leader Liverpool.

A series of injuries have not helped Guardiola this season, with two of them affecting the team on Wednesday — Erling Haaland couldn’t start because or a knee injury sustained against Newcastle and John Stones had to be substituted less than 10 minutes into the match, also because of an apparent knee problem.

Guardiola has been without world player of the year Rodri for nearly the entire season because of a knee injury.

Rodri’s absence helped explain the team’s inability to dominate ball possession as it previously did in recent years, and the defensive woes have also proved costly this season. The Spanish midfielder is set to return soon, giving Guardiola some hope for the rest of the season.

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