Pep Guardiola broke a special record on Wednesday evening. Never before has a coach managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League nine times. Guardiola was left with a 0-0 draw with Manchester City on a visit to Atlético Madrid, but that was enough for a place in the last four in the billion-dollar ball after the 1-0 victory in Manchester a week earlier.
Despite the fact that Atlético needed at least two goals to secure a ticket to the semi-finals within regular time, they had little to say about Wednesday evening in the first half. At the same time, just like in the first game, City had the necessary difficulty to play through the Madrid defense. In the final phase, City shivered after two huge chances for Matheus Cunha and Stefan Savic, but the spell was not broken, making Guardiola’s team a semi-finalist.
9 – @ManCity‘s Pep Guardiola has reached his ninth @ChampionsLeague semi-final, the most of any manager in the history of the competition (four with Barcelona, three with Bayern Munich, two with City). unique. pic.twitter.com/wrrqhd71Qc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) Apr 13, 2022
It is the ninth time in his career for Guardiola that he has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. The Spanish coach broke the record with three different clubs. He succeeded four times at Barcelona, three times at Bayern Munich and as manager of City he reports to the last four for the second time. Guardiola leaves Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti behind. The trainers of AS Roma and Real Madrid respectively have reached eight semi-finals in the largest European club tournament so far.
If Guardiola win the Champions League this season, it will be his third title. The coach won the trophy as a coach of Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. Last season he also reached the final with City, but Chelsea proved too strong. Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the semi-final. The other semi-final is between Liverpool and Villarreal. The final will be played on May 28 at the Stade de France. The final was originally to be played in Saint Petersburg, but has been moved to France due to the Russian invasion.
Related
More sports news