Guardiola's reaction now crucial after Man City agonisingly fall short in UCL

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the number of Premier League clubs looking for redemption in European competitions this season.

So many of them could see that a European trophy would transform their season into a very successful one.

This point was perfectly made by Manchester United's loss in the Europa League Final and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declaring that he now couldn't call this season "successful".

Well, Chelsea certainly found their redemption on Saturday night through a Thomas Tuchel tactical masterclass and a herculean effort from the players led by an incredible performance from N'Golo Kante.

No one can deny that they thoroughly deserved to win the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City.

That win catapulted their season into something spectacular and I would guess that Tuchel will now look forward to an important summer of transfer business having signed a new long-term contract.

Let's also not forget that Chelsea did something very similar back in 2012 when they last won the Champions League after a disappointing Premier League season and a mid-season managerial change.

As for City, I believe this loss will seriously sting them. The redemption they longed for from this trophy was to be truly recognised as the calibre of team that they feel they are and yet they were convincingly out thought and out played.

Pep Guardiola's team selection for the match will come under the spotlight but I hope this doesn't overshadow the focus on how brilliant Tuchel was.

It will be fascinating to see how Guardiola reacts from this result. Ultimately, he knows that it has always been a priority for him to guide City to win the Champions League and after five seasons it hasn't happened yet.

He is one of the great managers of his time and has brought so much to the English game, but this final accolade is still out of reach.

Will Guardiola win the Champions League with City? Comment below.

You don't become a manager of his calibre without the deepest determination and with a contract running until 2023, it wouldn't surprise me to see him regroup and go again next season.

There are currently a number of top managers trying to fit into the top European jobs and they will all be watching Guardiola.

The likes of Antonio Conte, Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino are all available and none of them would want to commit too early to a new job without knowing what is happening at City.

In today's world, none of the top clubs can afford a slow summer of transfer business; so, however Guardiola reacts to this result will need to be sorted fairly quickly.

This result will have hurt them badly, but they don't want the effects of it to drag on longer than absolutely necessary.

All eyes will be on Guardiola and he will lead the moment when the players and club let this result go and focus on what is ahead of them.

City, under Guardiola, could well go on to win the Champions League in the future but how they react from this result will be very important.