CL: Looks like we forgot to play against Basel, says Manchester City boss

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City were really poor as they slumped to their first home defeat in 15 months at the hands of Basel. The runaway Premier League leaders were beaten 2-1 by the Swiss side after making six changes for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

The loss was not enough to prevent City progressing to the quarter-finals 5-2 on aggregate but Guardiola was nevertheless frustrated by the drop in intensity. "The first half was quite good but in the second half we forgot to attack, we forgot to play," said Guardiola, whose side last lost at the Etihad Stadium against Chelsea in December 2016. "We just passed the ball.

"Passing the ball means passing to move the opponents and attack - to pass for itself is nothing. The second half was really, really poor. We just passed for ourselves and that is not football." The result meant City have still not won both legs of a knockout tie in the Champions League, but Guardiola took comfort from the obvious positive.

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