Manchester City was eliminated from the Club World Cup on Monday (30), losing to Al-Hilal 4-3, in a game valid for the round of 16.
The setback is another factor for the pressure moment lived by the citizens, who lives in a troubled moment after season practically without titles in 2024/25.
“According to our standards, this will be a bad season … We come from spending years at the top, so we lost any kind of comparison. But that’s the cool thing about football,” said Guardiola himself after consecutive eliminations.
Manchester City’s bad year
After years full of glory, Manchester City won only the England Super Cup. He was third in the Premier League, far behind champion Liverpool and eliminated in the round of 16 play-offs of the Champions League final.
There was still time to lose a final. Manchester City was defeated by Crystal Palace, who had never won a title of expression in the club’s history in the decision of the England Cup. In the English League Cup, it was eliminated in the fourth round for Tottenham.
In numbers, it was Guardiola’s worst season since he arrived at Manchester City.
Writing in the World Cup
After Guardiola’s statements about City’s seriousness at the Club World Cup, the team appeared as a favorite, but was eliminated early. The fall for al-Hilal was not in the plans.
Now, the Manchester City delegation returns to England for a holiday period and then start the preseason thinking about the next challenges. The pressure in Guardiola and company will be large.
