MANCHESTER, England Since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan took over the team in 2008, Manchester City has undoubtedly become one of the best in the league, but Real Madrid is a much higher rung on the ladder and they gave Pep Guardiola a painful wake-up call when they upset the European champions and ended his hopes of winning a double-treble.
The triumph on Wednesday ought to act as a warning that Real Madrid is always a threat, even when facing up against a squad as skilled as Guardiola’s City.
Real Madrid won 4-3 on penalties following a 4-4 aggregate draw over the two games thanks to Antonio Rudiger’s coolly converted spot-kick in the penalty shootout at the conclusion of this thrilling quarterfinal match. Although City controlled both games, especially the second leg, Real is Real, the 14-time European Cup and Champions League winners, and they have a track record of winning games. They were too strong for even Guardiola’s triple winners to defeat.
“We played excellent defense tonight,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti remarked. “The goal here was to survive. The foundation of Madrid is our constant struggle to survive in circumstances where it would seem impossible to escape—but we constantly manage to do so.”
While City has become the dominant force in England, surpassing the historically more successful Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea, the Champions League is far more difficult terrain to conquer. A year ago, City defeated Real 4-0 in the semifinal second leg on their way to winning the Champions League for the first time against Inter Milan in Istanbul. Their victory and performance hinted at a shift in the balance of power in Europe, with the old powerhouses being eclipsed by this team of talents built by its Abu Dhabi owners.
In the Champions League period since 1992, no team has ever won a treble (United, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, thrice), and no team has ever successfully defended its European title after a three-pronged victory the following season. Real Madrid is the only team that has won the Champions League continuously since 1992, so City has always had a difficult task ahead of them.
However, City has grown so strong under Guardiola that they appear to be ready to defy expectations this year. The story of the tape from this game—33 shots to Real’s eight—only served to highlight how City can smother and strangle an opponent. Their pass count of 919 was more than twice as high as Carlo Ancelotti’s team’s total of 458. Real Madrid produced a performance more fitting of a big underdog by defending deep, attacking on the counter, and depending on the incredible show as they were unable to capitalize on their domination.
After the game, Guardiola remarked, “Football is about winning and we didn’t do enough, yet we were exceptional.” “On penalties, you can win sometimes and lose other times. But, despite playing strong defense, we were unable to capitalize on our opportunities during the game. Everybody gave excellent performances. We stated that playing Real Madrid would require us to be at our best, and they were.”
It would be naive to interpret this loss and quarterfinal exit as the end of an era at the Etihad, since Guardiola’s assessment of the game was a fair depiction. Naturally, Champions League losses are scrutinized more, but this game featured both exceptional and inconsistent performances from Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. Ultimately, it was just another one of those games where a City club, so used to winning and holding its own when the chips are down, found out it was just as human as any other squad.
Following Rodrygo’s strike in the 12th minute, City exerted tremendous pressure on Real and generated numerous opportunities. Jack, Erling Haaland, Silva, and De Bruyne.
