Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists that his side’s first-half display against Monaco is the reason they got eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Blues were eliminated from the European competition after suffering a 3-1 defeat against the French Ligue 1 side, with Monaco advancing to the next round on the away goal rule, following their 6-6 aggregate scoreline.

The 45-year-old manager insists that his side were shadows of themselves in the first half, but was delighted with City’s second half showing, despite losing the match.

‘We played exceptional in the second half, but the first one we forgot to be there,’ Guardiola told the Manchester City website.

‘We are a team that wanted to defend aggressively without the ball. In the second half, it was much better, but it wasn’t enough.

‘Normally we play until half-time at a good level, but tonight we didn’t do that. It’s happened, the opponent was there and we will learn from this.’

Guardiola admits that Monaco’s late winner was a killer blow for his side, but he felt City should have put the game to bed in the second half and should have been in control.

‘We have a team with not much experience in this kind of competition. At this level, when you concede and play the way we did in the first 45 minutes, it is so difficult. In the second half, we had the chances to score a lot of goals, and we didn’t. That’s why we are out,’ he added.

‘That is my only sad thing – the way we played in that first 45 minutes. You can play and the opponent can beat you, but we were not there. In the right moment, we should be there but we weren’t.

‘I think we will improve next year. We are going to try – of course, we are. This competition is so demanding for the big teams. In the special moments, we were unlucky. That’s why we will be looking to the Premier League and the FA Cup  in the remaining months and then on to next season.”

Manchester City will now take on Liverpool in what is expected to be an entertaining Premier League encounter on Sunday.

The match at the Etihad Stadium kicks off at 18:30.

Image: Manchester City website