John Stones bemoaned Manchester City's defensive frailties in their 3-1 Champions League round-of-16 second-leg loss at Monaco on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola's men were eliminated from the competition on away goals after a 6-6 aggregate scoreline, but had one foot into the quarterfinals until a 77th-minute Tiemoue Bakayoko header sent City crashing out.
And Stones said: "We weren't defensively solid enough in the first half, and I think the second half didn't reflect the full scoreline -- we were the City that everyone knows, with how we've been playing this season, no matter what the outcome of the game was."
City piled on the pressure in the second half after a lacklustre first 45 minutes, but squandered a number of chances that could have seen them seal the tie on the day.
"I thought we should have scored more goals. I know we can always say that after the game, but it's a difficult one for us to take," Stones said.
"After the first game, and how we came back and came ahead, and we're thoroughly disappointed in there. We all know we should have done better and believe that we deserve to be in the next round.
"The gaffer was saying before the game that the more and more he plays in the Champions League it's about the set pieces -- Real Madrid scored from two set pieces the other week and go through -- and we weren't solid enough in those areas of the game and that's what's let us down on the day."