[Mhiz Rebecca]

Manchester City have crashed out of the Champions
League thanks largely to a dire first-half showing in
Monaco which not only undid their first-leg heroics but
has also ensured their recent progress has gone to
waste.
Pep Guardiola has overseen a significant turnaround in
performances and results since City’s Premier League
title challenge unravelled at the start of December, but
with elimination from Europe on Wednesday night, they
now face the prospect of the season petering out.
There is an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, which is
just a reward for their form at the start of 2017 and
which may yet deliver a trophy to end Guardiola’s first
season in charge at the Etihad Stadium. It is certainly
not beyond them.
But only a second-ever appearance in the Champions
League quarter-finals is now out of reach. It is the first
time Guardiola has gone out at this stage in his career
and given City reached the semi-finals last season
there will be inquests to determine whether the Catalan
has indeed taken the club forward since replacing
Manuel Pellegrini.
He has clearly got City on the road to where he wants
them to be, and that in itself should be regarded as
progress, even if there were few positives to come out
of Wednesday’s disaster.
It was a soporific first-half display which eventually did
it for them. City simply did not turn up. They were
outmaneuvered in midfield which allowed Monaco to
stream through in attack and stop the visitors from
getting any kind of foothold on the match.
Kevin De Bruyne’s form has dipped a little of late but
here he was the worst player on the pitch. Fernandinho
had a first-half shocker, too, though he was swamped
as Monaco easily broke past De Bruyne and David
Silva.
The hosts’ full-backs also provided the latest reminder
of exactly why Guardiola wanted to overhaul the
position last summer and why he will do so in the
coming months. Benjamin Mendy and Djibril Sidibe
were fast, strong and alert both going forwards and
backwards, and they kept Raheem Sterling and Leroy
Sane quiet while threatening City’s own ageing full-
backs, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna, who are both out
of contract this summer and will not be retained.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho were the least
Monaco deserved, and it seemed Guardiola would have
to make a change at half-time.
He did, but not by bringing on Yaya Toure, who has
been in fine form since his shock return to the team in
November. De Bruyne was moved deeper to offer more
protection and to get himself into the game more, and
it must be said it worked – it was just unfortunate for
City that he could not produce his usual magic when
he was in possession.
“We had a great second half,” Guardiola said
afterwards. “We showed great personality in a difficult
situation away from home. We could have scored three
or four goals but we didn’t manage to do so. But you
cannot have a 45 minutes like that at this level. But
we’ve had a good Champions League. We’ll learn from
this lesson and try again next year.”
Guardiola’s men did indeed show great character to
shake themselves out of the first-half stupor but they
were also aided by Monaco, who came so close to
blowing it by sitting back for much of the second half
and waiting for City to come at them. It always looked
like they were playing into the visitors’ hands and so it
finally proved when Sane raced in to tap in the loose
ball from close range, having earlier seen Sterling and
Sergio Aguero miss fine chances.
City would have gone through at 2-1 but another
of their weaknesses was exposed as Monaco grabbed
the tie’s decisive goal. Guardiola, realising the tools he
has to work with only after some humbling defeats in
December, has simplified his tactics and tightened his
rearguard considerably as a result, and had been
rewarded with seven clean sheets from 10 games
heading into this clash.
But he knows that, individually, many of his defenders
will always be prone to mistakes. This time there was a
collective lapse as City allowed Tiemoue Bakayoko to
glide into the box unmarked and head home.
City got away with their mistakes in the first leg but
would not here. That game at the Etihad Stadium
encapsulated the current state of this City team;
vibrant up front and better at the back, but by no
means the finished article.
In the south of France on Wednesday, however, their
weaknesses were ruthlessly exploited and their serenity
in front of goal deserted them.
The first leg summed up the state of the City squad
and hinted at better things to come, but the tie overall
highlighted their current standing in European football.
They are far from a Guardiola team. They are not good
enough.