da prosport bet： Despite winning the trophy three times, the Catalan has suffered a litany of painful eliminations

da pinup bet： Pep Guardiola had insisted on Tuesday that he was not scared of Real Madrid, and given his previous record against them, he had no reason to be. But at the end of a draining 120 minutes in Manchester 24 hours later, plus an enthralling 90 in the Spanish capital a week prior, it was his side who were slumped on the floor, watching the familiar sight of Los Blancos celebrating another Champions League success after prevailing 4-3 on penalties.

There is a great paradox when it comes to Guardiola and Madrid. He has faced them 25 times as a coach, only playing Arsenal and Chelsea more often. He has won 13 of those games, drawing six and losing six. He has a better record against Madrid than when facing Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and even Borussia Monchengladbach.

But when it comes to Champions League knockout ties, honours are even after last night, Madrid knocking him out on three occasions, as many times as he has had the upper hand over them in Europe's top competition.

“I absolutely don’t have any regrets" said Guardiola, who thanked his players from the bottom of his heart for "doing everything offensively and defensively" against Madrid. But he must regret the fact that the Champions League, the competition that fascinates him so much, has been so cruel to him…

Getty Images'We created everything'

Guardiola was at pains to point out that his side had dominated the game, but he didn't need to. It was laid bare in the match statistics. City had 33 shots to Madrid's eight, with nine on target to their opponents' three. Madrid blocked a total of 12 shots from City, who only blocked one from their visitors. They typically monopolised possession with 67 percent of the ball, while they had 18 corners to Madrid's one.

In terms of statistics, last year's rampant 4-0 win in the semi-final second leg was far more even than Wednesday's 1-1 draw, the shot count reading 16-7 on that night 11 months ago.

"We were outstanding in the way we played, and unfortunately, we couldn’t win," Guardiola said. "We should have scored before. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it; they defended so deep in transitions. We controlled them. We created everything, but we couldn’t win."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMadrid knew how to suffer

City are used to dominating matches and their relentless attacks usually wear down opponents to the point that they eventually cave in as their legs give way. Just ask Manchester United, who spent most of last month's derby trying to defend an early lead at the Etihad Stadium, but were eventually blown away.

Madrid, though, are made of sterner stuff, and hanging in there is second nature to them, particularly in the Champions League. "We knew that we were going to suffer. We suffered," said Carlo Ancelotti. "It was a really difficult game, but to win here, you have to behave like we did. We had a great attitude. They had more control of the game; we started well. After that, they started to play and we had more difficulties, but we were able to keep going and stay concentrated at the back."

Getty'Most teams fall apart'

Guardiola is a coach that plans for every situation and agonises over the opposition's style and strengths, but one thing he could not legislate for was Madrid's capacity to stay alive when they were being constantly hemmed into their area.

Jude Bellingham described knocking out the holders as "incredible" and he knows first hand how unforgiving City are, having lost three out of four games against them with Borussia Dortmund, including a Champions League quarter-final tie in 2021.

“It’s relief. You put so much into the game. I’ve played against City before when you’re close and you think you’re going to get something and then they snatch it away,” Bellingham told "It’s so difficult to keep focus, they move you around and put you in positions you don’t want to be in. Most teams would fall apart when City get on top, but we stood up really well and worked hard. I’m dead on my feet at the end of the game, so it’s a massive reward."

GettyTwelve semi-finals out of 14

Bellingham also talked about how Ancelotti encourages him and his team-mates to express themselves, contrasting Madrid's liberal approach with City's meticulous way of playing.

“Our biggest strength is [Ancelotti] finds a way to let the boys play with freedom," he added. "Other teams are structured with their patterns of play, but we’re so off the cuff at times. I caught him yawning before the game and he said ‘you need to go and excite me’! That’s the calmness he brings.”

Madrid's improvisation has certainly served them well over the years. They have made it to the Champions League semi-finals for the 12th occasion in 14 years. City have made it to the same stage only three times in eight years under Guardiola. They finally got over the line and won their first Champions League last year in Istanbul, but that was actually an anomaly for the club and Guardiola.