Rating Pep Guardiola’s worst Champions League exits since he final received trophy after Man Metropolis’s shock loss to Actual Madrid

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Pep Guardiola’s lengthy wait to reclaim the Champions League should go on not less than one other 12 months after his Manchester City facet had been dumped out of the semifinals in spectacular vogue by Real Madrid on Wednesday.

After profitable the primary leg 4-Three on the Etihad, an additional objective from Riyad Mahrez on the Bernabeu had Metropolis two objectives forward on mixture and cruising because the second leg ticked over into the ultimate minute. The deed was accomplished. The battle was over. The ultimate beckoned.

However, by some means, Metropolis then conspire to concede two objectives past the 90th minute and one other in additional time to lose 3-1 and succumb to one of many Champions League’s most humiliating late collapses. Metropolis’s benefit was obliterated when Rodrygo scored twice within the first two minutes of stoppage time earlier than a resurgent Actual accomplished their comeback with a 95th-minute penalty from Karim Benzema — the prolific striker’s 15th objective in Europe this season.

Los Blancos will now face Liverpool within the 2021-22 Champions League closing in Paris on the finish of the month, whereas Guardiola will doubtlessly be spending the intervening weeks desperately making an attempt to analyse how his facet managed to pilfer defeat from the jaws of victory in such maddening vogue.

It is now been 11 lengthy years since Guardiola final skilled Champions League success together with his all-conquering Barcelona ensemble of 2010-11, who comfortably noticed off Manchester United within the closing to carry the trophy.

Controlling virtually each side of the sport from begin to end, Guardiola’s fearsome line-up strolled to a 3-1 victory at Wembley that left Sir Alex Ferguson overtly marvelling on the majesty of his opponents within the aftermath. The objectives got here from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa and had been in flip assisted by Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

No supervisor has suffered extra eliminations on the semifinal stage of the match throughout his profession than the Spaniard, who has now gone out on six events after reaching the ultimate 4. The one coach to match this undesirable competitors report is his erstwhile foe, Jose Mourinho.

Right here we rank every of the instances that Guardiola has fallen quick in UEFA’s elite membership competitors over the last decade of near-misses and non-starters that has adopted since he final lifted the trophy.

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10. 2016-17 spherical of 16: Manchester Metropolis 6-6 AS Monaco (Monaco win on away objectives)

Guardiola took on a mass rebuild job on the Etihad and, alas, the knockout part of the Champions League appeared to come back too quickly in his first season in control of Man Metropolis, who had been knocked out on away objectives by Monaco within the spherical of 16. City came from behind twice to win the first leg 5-3 at home, however their defensive frailties had been laid naked as their supervisor took on an agitated manner on the touchlines. Certain sufficient, those self same flaws had been exploited repeatedly within the second leg which Monaco — spearheaded by teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe — received 3-1 to undergo on away objectives and thus consign Guardiola to the earliest Champions League exit of his managerial profession. Simply to rub but extra salt into the wound, 2016-17 was additionally the primary season of Pep’s managerial profession to finish and not using a trophy.

9. 2019-20 quarterfinals: Manchester Metropolis 1-3 Lyon

The 2019-20 marketing campaign noticed all Champions League ties from the quarterfinals onwards decreased to single-leg knockout video games with a purpose to minimise journey and threat through the top of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, this did not play into Metropolis’s palms as Guardiola’s staff slumped to a dire 3-1 defeat in opposition to French facet Lyon behind closed doorways at a impartial venue in Lisbon. The sport was stage at 1-1 within the 79th minute however a few decisively slap-dash defensive errors allowed substitute Moussa Dembele to score two goals in the final 10 minutes of the sport to settle issues in Lyon’s favour. Guardiola was criticised for his overwrought system within the aftermath, notably his selections to go for a again three whereas additionally leaving attacking gamers like David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Mahrez on the bench.

8. 2013-14 semifinals: (Bayern Munich 0-5 Actual Madrid)

After a burned-out Guardiola left Barcelona on the finish of the 2012-13 season, he returned to the dugout at Bayern feeling suitably refreshed and re-invigorated after his sabbatical. Guardiola took over from Jupp Heynckes, who had led Bayern to Champions League glory the earlier 12 months, however he was unable to defend the crown because the Bavarians had been unceremoniously dumped out within the semis by Actual Madrid. Bayern misplaced 5-Zero on mixture, a disappointing consequence compounded by a 4-0 drubbing suffered at home in the second leg because the attack-minded German giants battle to regulate to their new supervisor’s affected person, possession-based ways.

7. 2014-15 semifinals: Bayern Munich 3-5 Barcelona

In his second season as Bayern coach, Guardiola suffered the twin ignominy of not solely being eradicated in successive Champions League semifinals but additionally being properly and actually schooled by his former staff. Nonetheless practising their ex-manager’s tactical blueprint, the Catalans scored three late objectives to blaze right into a 3-Zero mixture lead after the primary leg at Camp Nou — a recreation greatest remembered for Messi inflicting Jerome Boateng to crumble into a heap in the build-up to his second goal. Bayern then salvaged some pleasure by preventing again to win the second leg 3-2 on the Allianz nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient to beat their opponents and forestall them from reaching their first closing, and lifting one other trophy, since Pep’s facet in 2011.

6. 2015-16 semifinals: Bayern Munich 2-2 Atletico Madrid (Atletico win on away objectives)

Guardiola’s third and closing season at Bayern — a membership the place he received seven trophies, together with three Bundesliga titles — led to a lot the identical vein on the European entrance as Bayern as soon as once more suffered the exasperation of falling on the penultimate hurdle. Atletico Madrid scrapped to a 1-Zero win within the first leg in Spain after which nearly held agency within the fractious return fixture, dropping 2-1 to Bayern however advancing on away objectives on an evening through which either side missed penalties.

5. 2021-22 semifinals: Manchester Metropolis 5-6 Actual Madrid

Metropolis’s late capitulation within the Spanish capital shall be what sticks within the reminiscence, however the injury was actually accomplished within the first leg after they scored 4 objectives but additionally missed a number of different probabilities that would have ended the tie as a contest on the Etihad. Nonetheless, Madrid had been by some means capable of keep within the tie and ended up making their opponents pay. Whereas this exit shall be galling for Metropolis followers, Madrid had already mounted beautiful comebacks in opposition to Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea on this season’s knockout part, and that air of inevitability surrounding Carlo Ancelotti’s facet was not completely dispelled even when Mahrez scored on the Bernabeu. Bowing out to yet one more chaotic flurry of objectives is hard, however we suspect — for Pep not less than — that the ready is the toughest half. All 11 years of it.

4. 2011-12 semifinals: Barcelona 2-Three Chelsea

Hailed as one of many best groups of all time, Barca had been closely tipped to be the primary staff to win back-to-back European Cups in additional than 20 years, however the defending champions got here unstuck in opposition to Chelsea within the semis. With a 1-Zero edge to guard from the primary leg, the Blues spent huge swathes of the second leg sat deep whereas defending for his or her lives at Camp Nou after John Terry was despatched off close to the tip of the primary half. Roared on by the 95,000-strong house crowd, the Catalans had a 2-1 lead as the sport entered its latter phases and continued to put siege to the Chelsea objective in the hunt for a significant third that may negate the guests’ away objective benefit. Then, cometh the 92nd minute, cometh Fernando Torres. The striker was performed by one-vs.-one with goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who he dribbled around with ease to roll the ball into the empty net and guarantee Chelsea of their place within the closing.

3. 2018-19 quarterfinals: Manchester Metropolis 4-4 Tottenham Hotspur (Tottenham win on away objectives)

This exit was particularly galling because it was in opposition to a fellow Premier League facet, and one they’d crushed on every of their earlier three conferences, too. Spurs received the primary leg at their brand-new stadium by way of a single Son Heung-Min objective which in the end proved very important after City came back to win 4-3 in a thrilling match at the Etihad. All of the previous foibles as soon as once more mixed to undermine Metropolis’s efforts as a disappointing first-leg consequence and repeated defensive inconsistency noticed them unable to progress. Even then, Guardiola’s facet thought they’d pulled off probably the most frenetic comeback in stoppage time when Raheem Sterling‘s 94th-minute “winner” despatched the complete stadium into raptures, just for it to be disallowed for the tightest of offside calls by VAR.

2. 2017-18 quarterfinals: Manchester Metropolis 1-5 Liverpool

Along with his first trophy at Metropolis — the Carabao Cup — now within the bag and with the Premier League set to observe, Metropolis regarded well-equipped to go on a deep European run in 2017-18 solely to come back unstuck in opposition to eventual finalists Liverpool. Electrical from the very begin, Jurgen Klopp’s team steamrollered to a 3-0 win in the first leg amid a hostile Anfield environment, with all three objectives coming inside the first half an hour. An unorthodox 3-3-1-Three formation appeared to supply quick outcomes when Metropolis took the lead within the first two minutes of the second leg on the Etihad. Nonetheless all momentum was misplaced shortly earlier than half-time when a contentious choice to disallow a Leroy Sane objective for offside noticed Guardiola proven a purple card for his remonstrations, throughout which he stampeded out on to the pitch and wagged an accusatory finger on the officers. With their head coach watching on mournfully from the stands, Metropolis misplaced their zeal and Liverpool scored twice within the second half to rack up a hefty 5-1 mixture thrashing over their league rivals.

1. 2020-21 closing: Manchester Metropolis 0-1 Chelsea

The closest Metropolis have ever come to lifting the Champions League noticed Guardiola attain his first closing in a decade, the place he was pitted in opposition to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in Porto. Eyebrows had been raised when the groups had been launched an hour earlier than kick-off and Guardiola had named what seemed to be an especially attacking lineup: Sterling, Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva had been all within the XI, whereas even the presence of Ilkay Gundogan was not under no circumstances probably the most defensive-minded possibility within the matchday squad. The profitable objective got here when Mason Mount‘s cross break up the midfield and defence, permitting Kai Havertz to scamper by on objective with just about the entire Metropolis half to himself, nip the ball across the onrushing Ederson and win Chelsea their second European crown simply 4 months after Tuchel had been employed. For Pep, the agony of coming inside touching distance of that elusive silverware was virtually an excessive amount of to bear.



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