Pep Guardiola is yet to lift a single Champions League crown during his six-year spell with Manchester City and had a simple reason as to why he has not managed to end that barren spell as of yet.
The 51-year-old has won the competition on two occasions with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 respectively but has now gone a decade without lifting the coveted prize.
He came closest to a third win in 2021 when City were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea in an all-English final in Porto.
Since Guardiola’s last win, Real have won the competition a further five times – the latest of which came last season when they went all the way under Carlo Ancelotti.
Los Blancos knocked City out in the semi-finals with two stoppage time goals and an extra time penalty from Karim Benzema in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, having staged incredible comebacks against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in previous rounds.
Speaking after their goalless draw against FC Copenhagen last night, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was quizzed about why it is so difficult for his team to win the Champions League.
And he instantly pointed to the sense of inevitability about Los Merengues in the competition. “Because Real Madrid is always there,” he told Viaplay (h/t Mirror).
While many were sceptical about Real Madrid’s chances of winning the competition last season, their unrivalled pedigree in Europe coupled with the whole host of seasoned winners in their ranks made them a cut above the rest.
Many will question Real Maldrid’s chances of repeating their triumph this season. However, it would be advisable to be wary of Carlo Ancelotti side, as Pep Guardiola is, as they remain the only team in Champions League history to complete an incredible three-peat.
On Tuesday night, the Spanish champions scored a 95th minute equaliser against Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify for the knockout stages with two games spare.
Real joined City in reaching the round of 16 despite the Premier League champions drawing 0-0 with Danish side Copenhagen.
Follow Us on Social media:
- Arsenal eager for Mikel Arteta to extend his stay at the club for the long term
- Paul Merson shares if he thinks Man City will beat West Ham to win the title this weekend
- Anton Ferdinand predicts Man City could actually drop points against West Ham
- Manuel Akanji shares what Man City need to do to beat West Ham United this weekend
- Man City ‘major boost’ as U-turn moves Guardiola’s side ‘one step closer’ to signing Liverpool, Arsenal target
- Matheus Nunes brands Man City teammate a ‘magician’ as he picks ultimate Portugal and Brazil XI
- Ederson ruled out for West Ham and Manchester United clashes as eye injury diagnosis revealed
