Pep Guardiola reacts after Man City dumped out of Club World Cup in Al-Hilal shock

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has swiftly shifted focus to the upcoming Premier League season following a stunning upset at the Club World Cup where his team was knocked out by Al-Hilal. In an electrifying encounter at Orlando's Camping World Stadium, City were edged out 4-3 in extra time of their last-16 encounter.

Despite taking an early lead through Bernardo Silva, City squandered numerous opportunities and saw their advantage overturned by strikes from Marcos Leonardo and Malcom. Erling Haaland forced the match into extra time, but even with Phil Foden's leveller, City couldn't maintain control as Kalidou Koulibaly and Leonardo sealed a historic win for the Saudi Arabian side.

Reflecting to the defeat, Guardiola remarked: "It is a pity. We have been on incredible journey together and were in a good place. The vibe was really good. I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been.

"But it was a difficult game. The margins were minimal. We created a lot and (Yassine) Bounou made incredible saves but we were so open.

"We would have loved to have continued, it will only be once every four years, and we had a feeling that the team was doing well. But we go home and now it is time to rest and rest our minds for the new season."

City's shock exit left fans stunned, with the team falling short of advancing to a face-off against Fluminense - whom they trounced in last year's final 4-0. Guardiola acknowledged his side's deficiencies.

Guardiola admitted: "We regret a little bit that we allowed them to run a bit more. They defended so deep, the wingers were so quick and Bounou made a lot of saves.

"In the end, we have to score and be clinical. They arrived more in the transitions. They did not create much in the first half but we did but could not finish it. I had a feeling we could go through but they punished us on the transitions."

Al-Hilal's coach Simone Inzaghi said: "The key to this result was the players, the heart they put on the pitch. We had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City are, we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great.

"Guardiola is the best coach in the world but tonight we did our best and we deserved the result."