Man City Will Regret Their Semi-Final Display but the Guardiola Era Will Excite

There will be a feeling of regret this morning among the Manchester City players beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League semi-final. They managed just one shot on target across the two legs against a team clearly below their best. Zinedine Zidane’s side were deserved winners, but City’s insipid attacking game made life too easy for them. An opportunity missed, for sure.

Even with City so toothless over the two matches, Real’s win still wasn’t secure until the final whistle blew inside the Santiago Bernabeu. They themselves have deficiencies, and City could quite easily have taken advantage had they been more aggressive in their approach.

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Good morning City fans...

Thanks for your incredible support during our historic @ChampionsLeague campaign. #mcfc pic.twitter.com/HUI789iqFP

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) May 5, 2016"

It leaves Manuel Pellegrini’s final season in charge heading for the limpest of conclusions. The League Cup win back in February was a welcome bonus, but it’s the trophy lowest on any top English team’s list of priorities. He sacrificed the FA Cup and the recent Premier League game away at Southampton to ensure his players were as prepared as possible for their Champions League endeavours. His gamble now appears somewhat ill-advised.

He has two more matches in charge of the club, and he needs to ensure a top-four finish to avoid complete failure. Manchester United and West Ham United are both within striking distance, ready to pounce should City continue to flounder. If this side fails to qualify for the Champions League, it would represent the biggest failure of the Chilean’s career.

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It’s been a poor season by City’s standards despite the clear improvement in their European performances. City have gone from a side inhibited by nervousness and a lack of conviction in the Champions League to more assured semi-finalists. It’s a huge bonus and something they can build on, but it doesn’t mask their domestic failings, which have, at times, been embarrassing.

Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Stoke and Southampton have battered them, and City have failed to beat a top-six side all season, losing 10 of their 36 matches so far. It’s grim reading whichever way you look at it.

But City fans have much to look forward to. Pep Guardiola’s arrival will galvanise the club. Not only will he look to bring in a high calibre of player—younger, faster, tactically more astute—he will also bring new ideas, intelligence and energy. The club will be transformed under his stewardship.

His Bayern Munich side may also have fallen at the semi-final stage, losing to a ruthlessly efficient Atletico Madrid, but they play with a quality City have barely mustered for long periods of the last two seasons. He demands intensity from his players, something City have badly lacked for much of this campaign.

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He will demand midfielders who cherish the ball and look to pass the opposition to death, defenders comfortable in possession who play out from the back and full-backs who act as auxiliary forwards. It should be exciting, invigorating and, above all, a huge improvement on what City have served up this season.

The City players will regret their two games against Real Madrid—an opportunity to reach a European Cup final and make history missed. But they know better times lie in wait if they are fortunate enough to be in Guardiola's plans.

Expect a much-improved Manchester City next season.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.