Man City Will Regret Their Semi-Final Display but the Guardiola Era Will Excite

There will be a feeling of regret this morning among the Manchester City players beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League semi-final. They managed just one shot on target across the two legs against a team clearly below their best. Zinedine Zidane’s side were deserved winners, but City’s insipid attacking game made life too easy for them. An opportunity missed, for sure.

Even with City so toothless over the two matches, Real’s win still wasn’t secure until the final whistle blew inside the Santiago Bernabeu. They themselves have deficiencies, and City could quite easily have taken advantage had they been more aggressive in their approach.

Good morning City fans… Thanks for your incredible support during our historic @ChampionsLeague campaign. #mcfc pic.twitter.com/HUI789iqFP

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) May 5, 2016

It leaves Manuel Pellegrini’s final season in charge heading for the limpest of conclusions. The League Cup win back in February was a welcome bonus, but it’s the trophy lowest on any top English team’s list of priorities. He sacrificed the FA Cup and the recent Premier League game away at Southampton to ensure his players were as prepared as possible for their Champions League endeavours. His gamble now appears somewhat ill-advised.

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