Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confessed that his side's defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final has brought back memories of Barcelona's loss to Chelsea at that stage in 2012.
City were on top for the vast majority of the two-legged tie and were just seconds away from a 5-3 aggregate victory, only for two late goals from Rodrygo to send the tie to extra-time, where Karim Benzema struck from the penalty spot to secure a final berth for Los Blancos.
It was a similar story back in 2012 when Guardiola's Barcelona were clearly the stronger side but came undone against Chelsea, who snatched a 1-0 win in the first leg before a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou sent Roberto Di Matteo's men through to the final.
"I've always had defeats in the Champions League, I've had defeats so tough," Guardiola said post-match in Madrid. "Barcelona against Chelsea, when both games were exceptional and we could not reach the final.
"It's tough for us, we cannot deny. We were so close to arrive at a Champions League final."
Guardiola insisted that his side buckled under the pressure of the occasion and admitted things did not go to plan for City.
"We didn't play good in the first half, we didn't find out game, but that's normal. In this competition, it's normal," he continued.
"The second half was much better...much, much better. After the goal, we controlled the game. Jack [Grealish] helped us to control the game, but unfortunately we could not finish when we were close."
Source: 90min
