Pep Guardiola has named four teams that he believes can win the Champions League after Manchester City were knocked out by Real Madrid.
City were beaten 6-3 on aggregate by Los Blancos, with Kylian Mbappe netting a hat-trick as Madrid won the second leg of their play-off tie 3-1. Carlo Ancelotti's side are the defending champions, having lifted the trophy for a 15th time last season, and Guardiola believes they are the favourites to win it again this year.
He also named three other potential contenders, but Arsenal were not among them despite the fact that they finished third in the league phase. "Of course Madrid are a contender, definitely," Guardiola said after City's exit.
But there are other good teams around. It will be an interesting Champions League season. Madrid are always favourites for this trophy. There are other teams who are having a very good season but Madrid are always favourites.
But there are other teams that are playing very well. Liverpool are having a really good season up until now, Barcelona are amazing, Paris Saint-Germain, with my friend Luis [Enrique] in charge, are on the march. But obviously, Madrid are favourites."
It is the third time in four years that City have been beaten in a knockout tie by Madrid, with Guardiola suggesting this loss was the only deserved one. "The best team won. They deserved it," he admitted.
This season we haven't been so good – I felt that, in the previous seasons, we were better than Madrid, but this time not so. In this competition, quality always counts. This season Madrid are capable of long [spells of] possession; they were dynamic, they're fast when they run and they pressed well.