Guardiola responds to Man City’s unexpected elimination from the Club World Cup by saying, “They punished us.”

After his Manchester City team’s shocking 4-3 extra-time loss to Saudi Pro League powerhouse Al-Hilal in a wild last-16 match at the FIFA Club World Cup, Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that his team had weaknesses at both ends of the field.

After dominating Group G with three straight victories, including a decisive 5-2 victory over Juventus the previous time out, the Citizens came into the match in Orlando in high spirits.

Before the tenth minute, Man City’s captain, Bernardo Silva, flicked the ball home from a few yards out to give the team the lead for the fourth consecutive game.

The shot-stopper Bono was an outstanding player for Al-Hilal, making vital saves to keep out close-range shots from Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan before the Moroccan skillfully tipped a header from Josko Gvardiol over the crossbar.

City had a slim lead going into halftime, but Al-Hilal responded admirably, scoring two goals through Brazilians Marcos Leonardo and Malcom in the first half’s first half. Erling Haaland then promptly tied the score for the Citizens in the 55th minute.

Manuel Akanji’s header struck the post as Man City was running out of time to win in normal time, and defender Ali Lajami miraculously cleared Haaland’s subsequent attempt off the line.

Kalidou Koulibaly put Al-Hilal ahead just before Phil Foden, who became the 20th player in Man City history to score 100 goals for the team, poked the ball home at the back post after meeting a delightful cross from Rayan Cherki. The fiercely contested match was sent to extra time.

Leonardo, however, jumped at the back post to send the Citizens reeling and Simone Inzaghi’s Blue Wave to the quarterfinals after Man City was caught on the break several times and undone once more.

“At this stage, they are all difficult games,” Guardiola told reporters following Man City’s humiliating loss to Al-Hilal. We let them make transitions, but we made a lot of our own and did well overall.

“It’s unfortunate. Together, we have had an amazing journey and are doing well. It had a great vibe. I am so grateful to the players for their training and performance.

However, the game was challenging. The margins were narrow. We were very open, but Bono made amazing saves and we produced a lot.

“We had the impression that the team was performing well, and we would have loved to have continued, but we go home and it’s time to rest and prepare for the next season.”

“We regret a little bit that we let [Al-Hilal] run a bit more,” Guardiola continued. The wingers were extremely fast, they had a very deep defense, and Bono made numerous saves.

“We must ultimately score and exercise clinical judgment. More of them showed up during the transitions. In the first half, we produced more than they did, but we were unable to complete it.

“They punished us on the transitions, but I had a feeling we could make it.”

“The key to this result was the players, the heart they put on the pitch,” stated Inzaghi, who has not lost as Al-Hilal’smanagersince taking over as head coach less than a month ago.

“Knowing how good Manchester City is and that we had to ascend Mount Everest without oxygen, we had to do something extraordinary, and we were fantastic.

“Every player was outstanding in both the possession and non-possession phases.” Against a team that is extremely aggressive and strong in possession, we played well technically and were extremely well-organized in possession.

“Guardiola is the best coach in the world, but tonight we did our best and we deserved the result.”

Man City has six weeks to recuperate and get ready for the 2025–26 Premier League season, which begins on August 16 when they travel to Wolves. Their run at the Club World Cup is now over.

Al-Hilal is currently preparing for their quarterfinal matchup with Fluminense, a Brazilian team that surprised everyone by defeating Inzaghi’s old team Inter Milan 2-0 in the round of 16.