Pep Guardiola criticizes Manchester City team after Club World Cup loss to Al Hilal

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was left to rue his side's inability to capitalize on a host of first-half chances as the Premier League side suffered a shock elimination from the Club World Cup against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on Monday. Marcos Leonardo scored twice, including the 112th minute winner, as the Riyadh-based outfit won 4-3 in extra-time in Orlando with the first-half performance of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou proving pivotal in Al-Hilal's win.

Guardiola expressed his disappointment at the loss, stating, \"The level in this competition is a World Cup. The only regret I have is that we allowed them to run a little bit more than expected. Against a team that defended so deep, the wingers have been brilliant. The chances that we had in many, many departments. Bounou made a lot of saves and, in the end, you have to score, you have to be clinical.\"

City had taken a ninth-minute lead through Bernardo Silva, but a string of saves from Bounou in the first half kept the Saudis in contention. Leonardo and Malcom scored early in the second half to turn the tables on Guardiola's side before Erling Haaland leveled the game, leading to extra time. Kalidou Koulibaly's header put Al-Hilal back in front, but Phil Foden equalized for City before Leonardo secured the win for Al-Hilal.

The defeat sees Al-Hilal progress to a quarter-final meeting with Brazil's Fluminense, while City head back to England. Guardiola reflected on the team's performance, saying, \"We would have loved to continue, it's not easy to be here once every four years. The team still has that feeling, that the team is doing well. But we go home and now it's time to rest, to refresh our minds and come back for next season.\"