Work to do for Pep

Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final defeat by Real Madrid showed they are still a long way short of joining the European elite. The incoming Pep Guardiola has plenty of work to do to get them there…

You wouldn’t have guessed this was one of the biggest nights in Manchester City’s history. Manuel Pellegrini’s men were only 90 minutes away from their first Champions League final when they took to the Bernabeu turf on Wednesday evening, but they trudged down the tunnel at full-time having barely put up a fight.

The 1-0 aggregate scoreline suggests a close encounter, but Madrid could hardly have had it easier over the two legs. Zinedine Zidane’s men kept City at arm’s length throughout the goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium last week, and it was a similar story in Spain – only they should have won far more comfortably.

There is no shame in losing to a side like Real Madrid, of course, but the grimly familiar manner of the defeat was tough to swallow for the thousands of travelling City fans, and a total of two shots on target in 180 minutes told the story of the tie.

At the Bernabeu, Madrid’s failure to convert a string of chances after Fernando’s 20th-minute own goal ensured there was a tense finale, but City only could only muster five shots on goal to Madrid’s 15 overall, and they will not remember their first appearance in the Champions League semi-finals fondly.

On what should have been a momentous occasion, City’s lack of urgency and …

continue reading in source www.skysports.com