Pep Guardiola ‘locked himself inside office’ after Champions League collapse this season, new report reveals | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola stunned Etihad staff and players after a collapse in the Champions League this season by ‘locking himself in his office’, it has been revealed.

The latest inside look into a troublesome camp at the City Football Academy comes after Manchester City’s latest pursuit of a UEFA Champions League success came crashing down at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

A stellar hat-trick performance from Kylian Mbappe summarised all the struggles faced by City so far this season as Real Madrid cruised to a 6-3 aggregate victory to reach the last-16 of Europe’s premier club competition.

It is the first time that City have failed to reach the last-16 of the Champions League since 2012, and follows a dire showing throughout the brand new league phase that featured heavy defeats to Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus in the process.

During that run, City also most notably threw away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium to draw 3-3 and ultimately lead themselves to a 22nd place finish in the league table format to set up a two-legged meeting with Real Madrid.

Now, new details have emerged that look back on events from the collapse to the Dutch side, who have progressed further than the Premier League champions this season by defeating AC Milan in their own play-off affair to reach the last-16.

According to an inside in-depth report looking into a hugely challenging season for Pep Guardiola and City, The Telegraph’s Jason Burt and James Ducker have revealed the reaction of players to their coach’s physical appearance after the 3-3 draw to Feyenoord in November.

The City boss had cut his nose and left blotchy patches on his head through frantic rubbing throughout the closing moments of the game, with the report claiming that some players were ‘shocked’ by his appearance when he walked into the dressing room afterwards.

It is further claimed that Pep Guardiola would then apparently go on to lock himself in his office ‘seeking solace’, and was a bleary-eyed figure when he arrived at Manchester City’s training ground the next day.

The report states that the 54-year-old had told colleagues upon being greeted the next morning, “It is not a good morning.”

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City must now refocus their attentions and narrow them down to domestic proceedings for the remainder of the season, as they look to end the campaign on the highest note they possibly can given the circumstances.

The English top-flight still remains a priority for the club despite their inability to win the crown for a fifth consecutive season, as City aim to finish in the top-four and ensure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Elsewhere and the FA Cup is now the club’s only remaining chance at silverware, and having defeated Salford City and Leyton Orient in the third and fourth rounds respectively, Plymouth Argyle now travel to the Etihad Stadium for a fifth round affair next month.