Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola points to his sides first half performance as the reason they exited the Champions League to Monaco.

City headed into the game with a two-goal advantage but goals from Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho meant the game was tied at 5-5, on aggregate, at half-time.

Leroy Sane’s goal looked to have sealed a place in the quarter-finals for City however Tiemoue Bakayoko’s late header denied them.

“We were not there” - Guardiola

Guardiola said: “The problem was the first half when we were not there. Our strikers have to be aggressive and pick the ball up, but we didn’t. At this crucial time – that’s why we are out. We have to play more than 45 minutes."

He continued by saying: “It’s not about the defence and the goalkeeper. In the second half we won the second balls and how many chances did they create? Nothing."

“We tried to play. I did it all my career in that way. I was sometimes in semi-finals, losing some of them looking to score goals. But today the problem was the first half. We weren’t there.

“The gap between our first – and second – half performances was too big,” said a frustrated Guardiola.

First time for Guardiola

Manchester City’s exit from the Champions League is the first time that Guardiola has failed to take a side past the round of sixteen – four from four with Barcelona and three from three with Bayern Munich.

City progressed to the semi-finals of last year’s competition before suffering a 1-0 aggregate defeat to eventual winners Real Madrid.

Guardiola twice won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 however will need to wait till next season to achieve the feat with Manchester City.

The Spaniard said regarding winning the Champions League with City: “I tried and I will try again. Playing like we have done this season like in the second half, would have been enough.”

Silverware for City?

After exiting the Champions League City are now challenging on just two fronts for silverware however they trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by ten points.

If City are to have any chance of catching Antonio Conte’s men a strong run of form in their next three games is crucial. They host Liverpool on Sunday before making trips to Arsenal and Chelsea inside three days of each other.

City’s most realistic hope of silverware this season comes in the form of the FA Cup but they will need to overcome Arsenal in the semi-finals before the possibility of a tough final against either Chelsea or Tottenham.