Manchester City went to the Club World Cup dreaming of glory they wanted to show the world they were the best they had their best players ready they had the best coach they had the money the experience the trophies in the cabinet the confidence that they could beat anyone in the world
they went to win it to put another badge on their shirt to say world champions to stand above everyone to remind their fans they were the biggest and the best and they thought they could do it they believed they would do it they prepared they trained they studied their opponents they listened to Guardiola they trusted him because he is the man who changed their club who brought
them trophies who taught them how to win the big matches who turned them into a giant and they all thought this was going to be another moment another final another win another photo with the trophy another parade but football is a cruel sport it does not listen to plans it does not care about budgets or reputations or who is the favorite it only listens to the whistle and the ball and the players and the goals and Al-Hilal came to spoil everything they came with nothing to lose they came with their plan
and their courage and their pride they came for their own moment in history they wanted to show their fans they were not afraid they knew City were better they knew City had better players they knew City were the English champions the European champions but they did not care they said let us fight let us defend let us take our chances let us show the world what we can do and so the game began City
with the ball always with the ball moving it passing it keeping it like a toy they would not let Al-Hilal have it they pressed they pushed they played their patterns they sent it wide they crossed it they went through the middle they tried everything but the blue wall from Saudi Arabia did not break they stayed disciplined they stayed close together they talked they shouted they helped each other they blocked shots they tackled they headed the ball away they frustrated City Guardiola on the sideline was shouting directing moving his arms like a conductor
but nothing worked City had their big guns Haaland Foden De Bruyne Silva but the goal would not come the passes were off the shots were weak the ideas were slow the players looked tired they looked like they had played too many games they looked like the long season had finally caught them the heat the travel the pressure it was too much Al-Hilal smelled it they felt it they grew in confidence they said yes let them keep the ball let them tire themselves we will wait we will run when we need to we will save our energy and when they make a mistake we will punish them and that is what happened
City pushed up so high they left space behind they left space on the wings they left space for the counter Al-Hilal took it they ran with speed they ran with hunger they attacked with belief they created chances they forced saves they got corners they won duels the City defense looked shaken they argued they pointed fingers they lost focus and Al-Hilal loved it they knew they could do this they believed more and more the fans in the stadium felt it they cheered they clapped they made noise they made
City uncomfortable Guardiola made changes he tried to fix it he put on Rodri the man who had saved them so many times the man who made the midfield solid the man who broke up attacks the man who was their brain their shield their rock he was supposed to calm things down to give them control but fate was cruel Rodri himself was not ready he was coming back from injury he was still fragile and he felt it he tried to run he tried to cover he tried to pass but his body said no
the pain came back he signaled to the bench he could not continue he left the field head down Guardiola looked at him with worry with sadness because he knew how hard Rodri had worked to come back he knew how much they needed him now he knew this was a big blow not just for this game but for the rest of the season the team saw him leave and their heads dropped they lost belief they lost structure they looked beaten Al-Hilal saw it too they attacked more
they believed this was their moment their destiny and they scored the goal they needed the goal that would be remembered forever in Saudi football the goal that beat the European champions the goal that silenced the English fans the goal that made them heroes City had no answer they tried to react but it was desperate they lost their composure they argued they rushed they shot from bad angles the Al-Hilal goalkeeper
Bono became a wall he saved everything he dived he punched he commanded his area he played the game of his life he smiled he encouraged his teammates he knew this was special the referee blew the final whistle and it was over City out of the Club World Cup their dream dead their reputation hurt they looked at each other in disbelief they could not understand how it had happened Guardiola walked onto the pitch he shook hands he hugged his players he spoke to them quietly he knew he had to be strong he faced the cameras he explained what went wrong he did not blame anyone he said we were too slow we let them transition we made mistakes we tried but we could not score he praised Al-Hilal he said they deserved it he looked tired he looked sad he
looked like a man who had seen too many games end in heartbreak he knew this loss would hurt for a long time the fans watching at home were furious they could not believe their club with all its money with all its stars with its famous coach had lost to a team they considered small they ranted they cursed they demanded answers they wanted signings they wanted changes they wanted someone to blame some blamed the owners for not spending more some blamed Guardiola for overthinking some blamed the players for being lazy some blamed the injuries but all they had was pain because they wanted the title they wanted the badge that said world
champions they wanted bragging rights over their rivals but they got nothing only disappointment Rodri’s injury was the cruelest part he had missed so much football with that terrible knee injury he had fought so hard to return he had spent hours in the gym in therapy with doctors with trainers he had sacrificed his holidays his rest everything to be ready for this tournament for his team for his coach for the fans and now he was hurt again the pain was physical but also emotional he felt he had let them down he felt unlucky he felt cursed Guardiola spoke about him in the press conference he said we have to see he complained about his situation but we need time to come back he was worried but he tried to stay calm he knew they could not rush Rodri
back they would have to wait they would have to trust the medical team they would have to hope it was not too serious because without Rodri City were weaker they had no one else quite like him he was the balance he was the control he was the man who made them play Guardiola also tried to stay positive he said the vibe in camp was good the training was good he thanked the players he praised them for their attitude he said we tried our best it was a pity he knew he had to protect them he did not want to crush their spirits he wanted them to learn from this he wanted them to remember the pain and use it he talked about transitions how they were too open how Al-Hilal had punished them it was the same problem City had in other games too much risk too many
players forward not enough security at the back the same thing teams had exploited in the Premier League and in Europe Guardiola knew he had to fix it he knew the season was not over he knew there were more games to play more trophies to chase but he also knew the Club World Cup was special it would not come again soon it was a big opportunity missed the fans would not forget the critics would not forget the players would not forget the owners would not forget the media would not forget City had to go home now empty handed they had to reflect they had to plan they had to recover the physical toll of the season was brutal players were tired
they had played too much football too many competitions too many minutes the medical staff was busy the injuries were piling up the mental toll was also heavy players were stressed they felt pressure they wanted to win everything they felt expectations from fans from the board from the coach from themselves losing a big game like this hurt their confidence it made them question themselves it made them doubt Guardiola had to rebuild them he had to lift them he had to tell them it was not the end of the world that they could still achieve things that they were still a great team he would use the defeat as a lesson he would analyze the match he
would show them the mistakes he would fix the tactics he would make them better he always did he was a master at it but it would take time Rodri’s injury was the priority they would scan him they would test him they would decide the treatment they would not rush him he would do rehab he would work with specialists they would be careful they needed him for the rest of the season they could not risk losing him again for months Guardiola would also talk to the squad he would check on their mood he would motivate them he would rotate the team he would protect them from burnout he would think about transfers maybe they needed new players maybe they needed fresh blood maybe they needed more depth the owners would have to decide if they would spend they had the money but would they back the coach would they buy what he asked for the defeat in the Club World Cup was not the end of Manchester City but it was a big moment it showed them they were not
invincible it humbled them it made them think it forced them to improve because football is ruthless it does not wait it does not forgive the next game would come soon the fans would expect a reaction they would want wins they would want trophies Guardiola knew all this he had seen it all before he would prepare he would work he would talk he would plan he would do what he always did because he is Pep Guardiola and that is why City hired him that is why they paid him that is why they trusted him even in failure they believed he would find a way back to the top they would watch and wait and hope that the next time City played in a big match they would not fail that they would win that they would prove they were still one of the best teams in the world because that is football you win you lose you suffer you celebrate but you always keep going you always keep dreaming you always keep fighting and that is what Manchester City would do.
