Pep Guardiola was hired to win the Champions League for Manchester City and on Wednesday night they crashed out in the last 16 at the hands of Monaco. This is the unpalatable truth Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman, and the chief executive-sporting director axis of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain have to digest with year one of their Get Guardiola master plan in tatters.
If the Catalan was not required to win the competition in his first season the absolute minimum was to elevate style and offer clear evidence City are only fractions from breaking into the continental elite headed by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Instead Guardiola’s team were knocked out two rounds earlier than last term, when Manuel Pellegrini took City to the European Cup semi-finals for the first time. The Chilean was sacked by Mubarak despite that achievement, the claiming of the second League Cup of his tenure, and a fourth-placed finish last May.
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Related: Manchester City stunned by Monaco: ‘We weren’t there in first half,’ admits Guardiola
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