Roberto Mancini has insisted that Manchester City's failure to progress to the last 16 of the Champions League is "not an embarrassment".
However, he does admit that Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have played better than the Eastlands outfit in the tournament this season.
"We are disappointed because we wanted to reach the second round," he said. "But I believe that there are times when there are teams in football that are better than you and you have to respect that.
"We have to accept that Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid played better than we did and we'll have to try again next season. But it was not an embarrassment."
City are away at Dortmund in their final Champions League Group D match on Tuesday.