Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says it is “time to rest [physically] and rest our minds for the new season” after his side’s shock Club World Cup exit to Al-Hilal.
City contrived to lose 4-3 to the Saudi Arabian side despite having 30 shots and will now belatedly end their season and try to recover for the next.
Guardiola said: “In the end we have to score and be clinical. They did not create much in the first half, we did but could not finish it. I had a feeling we could go through. We allow them to make transitions [but] we created a lot.
“It is a pity, we have been on an incredible journey together [here] and in a good place. The vibe was really good, I cannot thank Manchester City enough and especially the players for training and how they have been playing.
“We would have loved to have continued, it is only here every four years. We had a feeling that the team is doing well but now we go home and it is time to rest [physically] and rest our minds for the new season.”
Asked if he had seen enough to make him confident that City would have a better season in 2025/26, he said: “It is too early to say. But there have been so many good things I did not see [recently] in the past. The relationship between the players, our captain [Silva] helped a lot and the standards from our staff. I felt we were happy here, the training sessions have been really good.
“[But] Al-Hilal has a lot of quality. They are a complete team that can run and run – I have a big opinion of them but we [still] did a good game.”
City had taken the lead through their new captain Silva but Leonardo and Malcolm gave Al-Hilal the lead, before Erling Haaland took the tie into extra-time.
Kalidou Koulibaly and Phil Foden both scored before Leonardo popped up with a late winner to send the Saudi Arabian side through.
City goalkeeper Ederson was at fault for at least two of the goals, but the City defence was suspect throughout.
Chelsea remain the Premier League’s only representatives at the Club World Cup and will play Palmeiras in the quarter-finals this weekend.
In the other quarter-finals, Al-Hilal will now face Fluminense, and PSG will battle against Bayern Munich. Real Madrid, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Monterrey are still in the last-16 pot to complete the quarter-final line -up.