It’s tough, says Pep after City suffer painful meltdown

Pep Guardiola. Pic/AFP

Manchester City have become accustomed to Champions League heartache, but the manner of their latest collapse against Real Madrid might be the most painful defeat of all. Four times Pep Guardiola's men held a two-goal advantage in a classic semi-final tie they eventually lost 6-5 on aggregate.

Thirteen-time champions Madrid somehow found a way to win as City, last year's defeated finalists, melted away in the white-hot atmosphere of the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

For 89 minutes, the English champions showed the maturity built up over a decade of experience in the competition but in 90 seconds their best-laid plans were destroyed. Riyad Mahrez's stunning strike 17 minutes from time put the visitors 1-0 up on the night and 5-3 on aggregate, apparently ending the contest.

It was a case of history repeating itself - both in terms of the Madrid fightback and also a Guardiola team failing to negotiate the fine margins that define the latter stages of the Champions League.

It is now 11 years since he won the second of his two European Cups as a coach at Barcelona. In the 10 seasons he has been in charge of Barca, Bayern Munich and City since, he has lost a final - last year's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, five semi-finals and three quarter-finals.

"Always I had defeats so tough in the Champions League. It's tough for us, we cannot deny it, we were so close to a Champions League final."

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