After a heartbreaking exit at the hands of Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid, Manchester City has turned their attention to guaranteeing a berth in the Champions League for the upcoming season.  The Cityzens, who are now set for a summer reconstruction, suffered yet another setback in their dismal campaign, losing 6-3 overall after a resounding 3-1 loss in the second leg of their play-off encounter at the Bernabeu Stadium.

On a night when City failed to live up to expectations, Mbappe’s spectacular hat-trick sent the defending champions into the round of sixteen.  The absence of crucial attacker Erling Haaland, who was deemed unfit to start, severely limited City’s prospects, even if they came to Spain with some optimism following a strong showing in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, where they took a 2-1 lead at first.

“Yes, of course it is the main target,” said City manager Pep Guardiola after the loss.  The FA Cup is also there, but we have 13 Premier League games left to try to get it back into the top four or five after being eliminated from the Champions League.”

 “We were not good enough,” said City defender Ruben Dias, echoing the dismay.  We look forward and shake hands.  We must be better; we still have a long way to go.  Because we dislike losing and being in this situation, the disappointment may be more than usual.

The FA Cup and the Club World Cup later this summer are City’s two main chances to win a trophy this season as they try to reassemble.  But as they prepare for a pivotal matchup against league leaders Liverpool on Sunday, they face a formidable obstacle given their current standing of fourth in the Premier League standings.  Dias said, “It’s our main target, and we need to be honest about it.”