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What's the story?
Former Milan and Chelsea midfielder Ruud Gullit believes the absence of Lionel Messi in Pep Guardiola's current team is the reason behind his shortcomings in the Champions League.
In case you didn't know...
Manchester City crashed out of the Champions League despite a 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their quarter-final fixture on Wednesday. Having tied 4-4 on aggregate, Spurs advanced to the semi-final stage on the away goals rule.
The game proved to be one of the most eccentric clashes in the competition, as both sides played a pendulous back-and-forth game of scoring. Raheem Sterling found the back of the net early to give the Premier League champions a lead, but Son Heung-min did not let them get away with it by scoring two goals in three minutes. A minute later, an equaliser arrived for City, courtesy of Bernard Silva followed by another Sterling effort.
The second half saw Sergio Aguero score to give City hopes of progressing to the next round, but the crucial lead was squandered when Fernando Llorente scored the Spurs' third goal to give them the edge through the number of away goals they scored.
Guardiola has not won the coveted European title since lifting it with Barcelona in the 2008-09 and 2010-11 campaigns, despite having managed Bayern Munich and Manchester City since then.
The heart of the matter
Dutch legend Gullit believes Guardiola's failure in Europe since leaving Barcelona is due to the absence of Messi. Speaking on BT Sport (via Goal), he said:
"It’s because he doesn’t have Messi. That makes a huge difference."
"He tried to do it with Bayern Munich. He was close every time, but he couldn’t do it. Winning the [Bundesliga] championship in Munich is not an achievement anymore because they win it almost every year."
"And I know that Pep, this is what he wants. He wants the Champions League and I feel sorry for him."
What's next?
Manchester City's prime focus now will be the Premier League where they are closely battling Liverpool to the title. The club will hope to avenge their Champions League exit when they face the Spurs in the league on Saturday.
