City Out of Champions League

Manchester City’s shocking decline reached its lowest point as Real Madrid ruthlessly ended their UEFA Champions League campaign.

City’s fans, watching helplessly from the stands, could only cheer sarcastically as their team struggled at the Bernabeu.

By the 80th minute, City were losing 3-0, and their weak attempts to fight back showed how much they had fallen. Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick sealed a 4-3 aggregate win for Madrid, ending City’s hopes in the competition.

Losing to Real Madrid is not unusual, but City’s lack of fight was shocking. For the first time since 2012-13, they failed to go past the group stage, proving that their once-dominant team is now struggling.

Manager Pep Guardiola admitted, “Nothing lasts forever. The better team won.” He hinted that big changes are needed.

Experienced players like Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and John Stones had little impact, while younger players like Abdukodir Khusanov struggled. Injuries to Erling Haaland and Stones made things even worse. City never looked like they believed they could win.

With two more years left on his contract, Guardiola must now rebuild his team if they want to compete at the top again.

Credit: BBC Sports