Pep Guardiola admitted a flimsy Manchester City lack physicality against top teams after Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick consigned them to an early Champions League exit.
Mbappe scored all three as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-1 victory in the second leg of their playoff tie – the first time City have failed to reach the last 16 since 2013.
Guardiola will oversee a period of change with the ageing squad in the summer but will fear the damage Liverpool could inflict when the old rivals meet this weekend.
‘We could not deal with the physicality or the rhythm Real had,’ Guardiola said. ‘We accept it. We will fight to be here next year. We were so lucky to win this competition once and to arrive in another final.
‘We are not at the level at the moment. We didn’t defend well. In previous seasons when we were playing outstanding it hurt more than today.’
Real’s dramatic late comeback to beat City 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium last week meant Guardiola had an uphill battle if they were to reach the next round. Vinicius Junior later appeared to mock the banner celebrating Rodri’s Ballon d’Or City fans unveiled before the first leg on social media.
City conceded within four minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu and then John Stones hobbled off with another injury – with Guardiola having earlier revealed that Erling Haaland’s knee complaint from the win over Newcastle had not sufficiently cleared up.
‘Last week was hard to swallow but even with a good result I know how good they are,’ Guardiola added.
‘With time, the team and club will accept what it is and we have 13 or 14 games in the Premier League to try and be here next season.
‘Nothing is eternal. We have been unbelievable and we have to try. We cannot win the league and we have to be in the top four or top five to try to be here again. With the problems we have I was not able to bring stability.’
Asked if there was a change in the cycle of the team, Guardiola replied: ‘A little bit, yes, we have started to do it. Things are not eternal, there are players who have an age.’
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said City ‘lost a lot of power’ with Haaland’s absence and implored his own No 9 to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s goalscoring records.
‘Kylian has the quality to reach that level,’ Ancelotti said. ‘Cristiano has set the bar very high. I think he can reach that level. It won’t be easy.’