...I'm not going to lie, this is not the result I was expecting. The City did perfectly in the group stage (winning 3 out of 3) and I believed they are level above and would not have any problems going through to the quarter-finals.
I'm not sure if I underestimated Al-Hilal, or overestimated Man City. Either way, losing 4 goals in a game is a clear indicator of something not working as it should in the defense. They did dominate in both ball possession and shots on goal, but they still allowed Al-Hilal to make 17 shots with 6 on target, which is quite a lot.
It's a very disappointing result by City no one would've ever believe the outcome of that match, inasmuch both teams did well in the group stage, but Manchester City were more favored to win that match but they couldn't defend properly. Guardiola have his own share of the blame, if he has started Cherki and Foden, maybe City would've scored more goals. Guardiola should figure out the missing piece in the upcoming pre-season matches so it won't affect them when the next season starts, if Al Hilal could score 4 goals you could imagine the number of goals Liverpool or Amy other top EPL team would score. Anyways I'm impressed with Hilal though they did the unexpected and made the tournament more interesting.
You are right, Guardiola is to be blamed for what happened in that game. He brought on Cherki and Foden almost too late, as he introduced them in extra time. At least they tried their best, and they were able to score a goal that brought them level. However, just a few minutes later, Al Hilal scored again.
As you said, if Guardiola doesn’t figure out the missing piece, especially in their defense, it will be very difficult for them to achieve anything tangible in the upcoming pre-season matches, if they don’t act fast and this is the time that they need to act.
Although, Ronaldo once said that Al Hilal plays better than most teams in Europe, and we have witnessed that after the match between Manchester City and Al Hilal in the Club World Cup.