It is clear Guardiola sees the Champions League as the pinnacle competition – seldom is he more animated than on a big European night.
That image of Guardiola, head in hands on the touchline or wearing a concerned look and throwing arms in the air in frustration, is not an uncommon sight.
Fans will remember Guardiola brought to his knees in the quarter-final against Tottenham in 2019 when Raheem Sterling’s last-minute winner was ruled out for offside. They will recall him waving his arms in frustration at the same stage against Lyon a year later.
Defeat in the final by Chelsea in 2021 also stung but when City ground out a 1-0 win in the 2023 final against Inter Milan to win their first European title and complete a historic Treble, fans might have expected that to open the floodgates for more European success.
Instead, they have only won a single Champions League knockout tie since, that against Copenhagen, and have lost nine of their last 17 European games.
Four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf told Amazon Prime: “There is no discussion about Pep’s quality as a coach. He makes a choice and it is [an attacking] philosophy – he wants to score one more than the opponent.
“But it comes at a high price when you play against the best players in the world at a certain point – [in] quarter-finals and semi-finals.
“I think the defensive part of his game could be improved, but I don’t think he’s going to change.”
