Farewell, possibly for good, to Manchester City, as they seem to part ways with Pep Guardiola’s reign in the Champions League. If this indeed marks the end for a coach synonymous with this tournament and his Barcelona legacy, it’s a lamentably appropriate conclusion. Once again, for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five seasons, Real Madrid has eliminated City. This has become a familiar narrative for City come spring; a chapter Guardiola likely won’t miss. While the defeated coach acknowledged Jurgen Klopp as his premier rival in England, Real Madrid remains his European bane.
For Guardiola, it underscored the harshness and the excellence of the Champions League knockout rounds. City made a valiant effort, yet in the end, they fell short of what would have been a legendary comeback. The defining moments came in the first 23 minutes before halftime in Madrid; City lost the match over the duration of 90 minutes, as they had in the previous leg, bested by Fede Valverde’s hat-trick in the Bernabeu and Vinicius Jr’s goal in Manchester. “To beat them 5-1, the score speaks volumes,” commented Alvaro Arbeloa.
With a mix of courage and urgency, City mounted a fierce assault; there was no shortage of bravery, energy, or heart. “They played with pride,” Guardiola noted. “Everyone was fully engaged.” Yet, the team faced two critical issues: they found themselves down 3-0 from the first leg in the Bernabeu, along with being a player short and a goal behind shortly into the second leg. “Playing ten against eleven is nearly impossible,” added Guardiola.
Despite the odds, City fought valiantly to disprove their captain’s words. Bernardo Silva had stated that conceding a goal would end the tie, and when that moment arrived, it marked the end for him as well, as he received his first red card at the Etihad. A penalty resulted from the infraction, which Vinicius Jr successfully converted. Nevertheless, City remained tenacious; Jeremy Doku was untouchable, Erling Haaland relentless despite struggling, and Rayan Cherki added elegance and creativity. The electrifying Abdudokir Khusanov impressed with his extraordinary recuperative powers.
City’s Nico Gonzalez looks dejected after the match as Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe looks on (Reuters)
However, City could not bounce back from their defeat in Madrid. Real’s star players stepped up when it mattered. “I have incredible players,” said Arbeloa. Three players were pivotal: Valverde, who scored a hat-trick in the first leg, Thibaut Courtois, who made crucial first-half saves, and Vinicius, who netted twice in the second leg. A recovering Kylian Mbappe made a brief appearance, as Real all but secured a quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
For that, credit goes to Valverde, who nearly opened the scoring in the first minute in Madrid and to Vinicius. The City supporters mocked him with chants asking, “where’s your Ballon d’Or?” – suggesting it might be on Rodri’s mantelpiece. Vinicius responded to the taunts with a playful tearful celebration following his first goal. He has various ways of expressing himself. The player who missed a penalty last week triumphed this time, successfully converting against Gianluigi Donnarumma from 12 yards and sending the Brazilian the wrong way.
He displayed that ingenuity at a significant cost to Silva, a player who has often been a thorn in Real’s side. Vinicius made a stunning run, cutting in from the left to strike the post, which deflected back onto Donnarumma. The follow-up effort struck Silva’s arm on the goal-line, resulting in a penalty. “It could have been avoided; we should have scored and played 11 against 11,” said Guardiola. “However, I will never blame my player.” City was initially spared by an offside flag, but when it was overturned, Silva was shown the red card.
Bernardo Silva was sent off for handball (PA)
The referee, Clement Turpin, made a decision that was both harsh and justified. A frustrated Guardiola received a caution for dissent, and City has faced challenges with officiating in prior Champions League eliminations; however, this wasn’t a robbery by Turpin, rather an execution by Vinicius.
Guardiola may have anticipated this. In the past, he utilized Kyle Walker to counter Vinicius’s lightning speed; last week, in Madrid, he opted for his fastest defender, Khusanov, at right-back. Just six days later, the Uzbek player was shifted to the center to allow for a more attack-oriented Matheus Nunes to play full-back. Nunes struggled to contain Vinicius, who squandered two additional excellent opportunities before finally adding another goal at the end.
Vinicius Jr stroked home the opener from the penalty spot (Reuters)
From the outset, City traded control for chaos. They launched the game with intense energy, possibly facing a deficit within the first few minutes but were up moments later. Courtois made impressive saves from both Cherki and Rodri, followed by a flurry of chances that Haaland couldn’t convert, all thwarted by Courtois’ heroics.
Despite this, they maintained relentless pressure. A deflected low cross from Doku found its way to Haaland, who scuffed his attempt. This was only his fifth goal in 19 matches. Even after Courtois—presumably fatigued after being overworked—was substituted at halftime, his replacement, Andriy Lunin, kept up the standard by denying Haaland yet again.
A sombre Pep Guardiola on Tuesday night (Getty)
Guardiola exhausted all options. He shifted to a back three for the second half, made two double substitutions, and even removed Haaland from the pitch. Keeping Haaland, Rodri, and Ruben Dias from playing the full 90 may be beneficial for the upcoming Carabao Cup final, but otherwise, City played as if there was nothing else on their minds but Real.
Even with 22 shots attempted, they could have secured the match, if not the tie, but both Doku and Rayan Ait-Nouri had their goals ruled out for offside. In injury time, Vinicius had a goal excluded before successfully scoring another, volleying Aurelien Tchouameni’s cross into the net.
Thus, Alvaro Arbeloa, the novice manager, has now achieved the feat of eliminating both Jose Mourinho and Guardiola from the Champions League. They are both esteemed figures in management, yet Guardiola frequently refers to Real as the kings of Europe. Once again, the sovereigns triumphed over Guardiola’s Manchester City.