Pep Guardiola, on Tuesday, confidently expressed that he did not fear Real Madrid, and rightfully so considering his previous encounters with them. However, after an exhausting 120 minutes in Manchester and an enthralling 90 minutes in the Spanish capital a week prior, it was Guardiola’s team that found themselves defeated, witnessing the familiar sight of Los Blancos celebrating yet another Champions League triumph, this time through a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.
The relationship between Guardiola and Madrid presents an intriguing paradox. As a coach, he has faced them 25 times, with only Arsenal and Chelsea being more frequent opponents.
Out of those matches, he has emerged victorious in 13, drawn six, and suffered six defeats. Surprisingly, his record against Madrid surpasses his performances against Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and even Borussia Monchengladbach.
However, when it comes to knockout ties in the Champions League, the balance of power remains equal after the events of last night. Madrid has eliminated Guardiola’s teams on three occasions, matching the number of times he has triumphed over them in Europe’s premier competition.
Guardiola made it clear that his team had dominated the game, although he didn’t need to. The match statistics revealed the truth. City had 33 shots compared to Madrid’s eight, with nine shots on target compared to their opponents’ three. Madrid managed to block 12 shots from City, while City only blocked one from Madrid.
They also controlled possession with 67 percent of the ball and had 18 corners, while Madrid had only one. When comparing the statistics to last year’s 4-0 victory in the semi-final second leg, the 1-1 draw on Wednesday seemed much more balanced, with a shot count of 16-7 in favor of City in the previous encounter 11 months ago.
City is accustomed to dominating matches, and their relentless attacks typically exhaust opponents to the extent that they eventually succumb due to fatigue. Just inquire Manchester United, who spent the majority of last month’s derby attempting to defend an early lead at the Etihad Stadium, only to be overwhelmed in the end.
On the other hand, Madrid possesses a stronger resolve, and enduring difficult situations is ingrained in their nature, especially in the Champions League. “We were aware that we would face hardships. And we did face them,” stated Carlo Ancelotti.
“It was an extremely challenging game, but to emerge victorious in this venue, we had to exhibit the same behavior we did. Our attitude was exceptional. They had greater control of the game; we began well. Subsequently, they began to dominate, and we encountered more difficulties. However, we managed to persevere and maintain our focus at the defensive end.”