Guardiolas worst week leaves work still to be done at Man City
AFP
AFP, MANCHESTER: In a week of new experiences for Pep Guardiolas Manchester City, a comprehensive Champions League 5-1 aggregate exit at the quarter-final stage to Liverpool was an all too familiar feeling.
City have now lost three consecutive games under Guardiola for the first time - having also blown the chance to win the Premier League in the sweetest style by letting a two-goal lead slip to lose 3-2 to local rivals Manchester United on Saturday.
To complete a miserable six days, Guardiola also lost his cool. A half-time tirade at Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz ensuring he had to watch his sides latest European exit from the stands.
There was some merit to his complaints. Liverpools 3-0 first leg lead had already been cut by Gabriel Jesuss second minute opener before City were wrongly denied a second goal on the night and a route back into the tie by a botched offside call against Leroy Sane.
When the teams are so equal the impact of these decisions is so big, lamented Guardiola.
Guardiola was described as a very disciplined man by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ahead of the game, who even suggested he could learn from his counterparts cool head.
Yet, Guardiolas outburst is the latest in a highly charged season that has also seen him reprimanded by the English Football Association for wearing a yellow ribbon in protest at the imprisonment of political activists who seek independence for his native Catalonia.
Until the past week, Citys near flawless campaign meant there could be no questioning of Guardiolas abilities as a coach with even Klopp revering him as the best in the world.
However, Guardiola too must now face up to repetition of adverse Champions League results in the spring as a pattern rather than coincidence.
The ease with which his ultra-attacking approach has been picked off in defeats at the hands of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Monaco and now Liverpool a recurring theme.
In the same time, Citys seven seasons in the Champions League since being bought over by the riches of Abu Dhabis Sheikh Mansour, have returned just one semi-final.
Over 500 million on transfer fees alone has been pumped into preparing Citys squad for the latter stages of the Champions League in two seasons under Guardiola.
Their latest European exit is all the more frustrating as it came at the hands of a side they lead by 17 points in the Premier League.
But it is also in keeping with Guardiolas three years at Bayern Munich where an unprecedented level of domestic dominance wasnt matched by three semi-final exits in the Champions League.
