Manchester City are in the middle of digesting what happened in their semifinal meltdown against Real Madrid. One year removed from the Champions League final defeat to Chelsea in a tight match, once again Pep Guardiola’s side was knocking on the door of a final until Real Madrid stormed back.
For Manchester City it’s back to the drawing board when it comes to European competition and they will need to pick themselves back up to maintain control of first place of the Premier League, with Liverpool, the other Champions League finalist, only 1 point behind.
For the first time in his career there are serious questions being raised about Pep Guardiola’s tactics and mental calmness during these key moments, yet City is reported to be offering the Spanish coach an extension on his contract.
Manchester City spent $1 billion on players since 2011
Toni Kross of Real Madrid and Head coach Pep Guardiola of Manchester City console Foden after Real Madrid defeated Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League Semi Final (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The biggest spenders in search of the big prize are the two Manchester clubs. Since 2011, City has spent around $1 billion on players, and Manchester United are in first place at over $1 billion on player transfers. The exact number of Champions League both have won is 0, as compared to Chelsea, Liverpool, and Bayern who combined have spent in the range of $1.5 billion and have taken home 5 Champions Leagues.
During his time with Bayern Munich, Pep was able to make it to the semifinals of the Champions League in his four seasons at the club but was eliminated by Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid, who could be considered the lone upset of those four years.
At Manchester City, the performance evaluation has been different, in 2016/17 Monaco eliminated City in the Round of 16, then Liverpool, Spurs, and Lyon all took down City in the quarterfinals. In 2020/21 it seemed that City was able to break the mental barrier of making the Champions League final but were defeated by Chelsea.
Once again, this season against Real Madrid in semifinals, City were at the doorstep, but a mental breakdown at the end of the second leg leaves City on the outside looking in. Much has been made that Guardiola’s system seems to indicate that in a long season, like a league, it is very effective in getting the long-term results, but in a big match up, a one and done game, City have trouble adapting to big situations.
Against Spurs, City were victims of VAR and against Lyon Raheem Sterling’s major misfires sent them home packing, but as a whole the team seems to wilt under pressure of reaching the major objective. Guardiola will surely analyze the soccer aspect of his defeat to Real Madrid but must also make a mental note that City while big spenders can’t buy a Champions League.
Real Madrid has proven that Champions Leagues are won with talent, order, and a certain cup history that at times drives teams over others. Once again, the PSG’s and Manchester City’s, newcomers to the World’s elite, must watch from home as the old dogs in Real Madrid and Liverpool fight for this year’s Champions League crown.
