Nor there are doubts that one of the great attractions of the qualifying round of Champions in between Madrid y Cityin case the passage to the Saint-Denis final was not enough, it is a new encounter between Pep Guardiola and the white club. From the bench, the Catalan coach starred in resounding victories against the Whites, including iconic matches in the history of the Barcelona and the classics, but Madrid also have good memories of their encounter with the ‘citizen’ manager.
On December 13, 2008, Guardiola debuted in a classic against Madrid. It was at the Camp Nou, against a Madrid led by Juande Ramos, who stood up until almost the end. However, in the 82nd minute Eto’o knocked down the madridista wall, which gave in completely to Messi (89′). All in all, that triumph was nothing compared to the match of the second round of the league, played at the Bernabu on the Day of the Community of Madrid (May 2), with full authorities in the box. It was the day of the famous 2-6who opted for the league on the azulgrana side, and who laid the foundations for dominance over the whites.
Dominance that settled, always with Guardiola, in the following season, 09-10, with two other Catalan victories in the League, and that made a crisis with the rally of classics from 10-11, in the first course of Jos Mourinho in Madrid. After Bara’s little hand at the Camp Nou in the first round, the whites and the Catalans faced each other four times in 17 days, in matches in three competitions, in which the noise level reached hitherto unexplored heights. Madrid won the final Copa of Mestalla (0-1, Cristiano), in Pep’s first KO, against the whites, but Bara prevailed in the semifinals of Championsprelude to the second continental title of the coach of Santpedor.
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Guardiola triumphed again in the Super Cup that year (5-4 overall), and in the classic league match and the Cup quarterfinal against Mou’s men, but Madrid recovered in the return of the league visit to the Camp Nou. It was matchday 35 and the whites defended their lead, which they reinforced after the win by 1-2 with goals from Khedira y Cristiano. Madrid carpeted the way to the League of Records after three consecutive titles for Guardiola and his team.
The Catalan left Bara that summer after winning 14 titles in four years. Your next station will be Bayern from Munich, with whom he crossed paths with Madrid again. It was in the semifinals of the Champions 13-14with Carlo Ancelotti on the white bench, in a historic crossroads for the Madrid club. The Spanish won 1-0 in the first leg and for the second leg an inflamed atmosphere was generated from Bayern, which Ramos y Cristianowith two doubles, were in charge of suffocating to put Madrid in the final of Lisboa. Then came Sergio’s goal to Courtois And the rest is history.
The triumphant cycle of Madrid, the four of five Champions, ended in 18-19, in a round of 16 match against Ajax. The 19-20 would cross Guardiola again on the way to Madrid, already as coach of the Citythe club he arrived at in 2016. It was in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and, after three straight defeats against Madrid, the coach picked up the thread of victories with a double victory in Madrid (1-2) and Manchester (2-1 ), which again left Madrid in the gutter of the Champions League at the first crossroads, The ‘skyblues’ will fall in the quarterfinals against Lyonin a match played in a single game by the pandemic.
Tuesday’s at the Etihad will be Guardiola’s twentieth match against Madrid. So far his balance is 11 wins, four draws and four losses. Almost always decisive games with titles at stake, with a favorable balance for the Catalan coach, but with well-remembered exceptions on the Madrid side.
