Pep Guardiola does not particularly enjoy the rush of the chase, despite the fact that it is undoubtedly a factor. It is only felt by being within it. The manager of Manchester City has expressed his pride in his team's continued participation in the race towards the Premier League and Champions League championships multiple times this season.

The manner in which Guardiola describes it is similar to how professional tennis and golfers conduct their business. Pay attention to your part in the situation, including your mental and physical preparations as well as your in-game actions and motions. There can be no repercussions if you leave nothing behind on the playing field or court. It is amazing if you succeed.

Guardiola argues that being present and giving it your all while competing valiantly is important and that this is the most difficult and self-sacrificing part of the process. He finds beauty in the City machine's steadiness, which sees them on track for a sixth league title in six seasons and about to play in their third consecutive Champions League semifinal.

The first one was won by City, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 before falling to Chelsea in the championship game. Prior to it, there had been three sequential quarterfinal exits and one in the previous 16. Guardiola's club has turned the knockout stages of Europe's top competition into both their own personal playground and the source of their darkest fears.

It is difficult to overlook the fact that, in order to enforce their vision of a great future, they must achieve more than simply defeating the team ahead of them—the one with 14 European Trophies to its credit—as the chase brings them again to Real Madrid and a first-leg game at the Bernabéu on Tuesday night. They must vanquish the ghosts of the past, which Madrid symbolizes more than any other foe.

Now is not the time to discuss procedures or how to gauge success. Finding a way to embrace a future that the club's Abu Dhabi ownership envisaged when they assumed control in September 2008 is about going beyond. 

City have previously been here. They arrived at the Bernabéu for the second leg in 2015-16, their breakthrough Champions League season under Manuel Pellegrini, after the first leg in Manchester ended in a stalemate. This allowed them to go to the semifinals. And they proceeded so submissively toward their one objective. Technically speaking, they always entered with a shout, but practically speaking, they never did because Madrid always seemed to have the upper hand.

City's first trip to the Bernabéu was amid Roberto Mancini's disastrous 2012–13 group stage campaign, which included no victories. With three minutes remaining and a 2-1 lead, they gave up goals to Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, leading to a 3-2 loss and Madrid manager José Mourinho's on-field knee slide while wearing grey suit pants.

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Even though City's third visit in the first leg of the last-16 in 2019–20 was not included, it is fair to assume that it was a sign of what was to come. When Guardiola overanalyzed it at that point, he dropped Raheem Sterling and Sergio Agüero and started Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva as false 9s, leading City to one of their best victories ever—a 2-1 victory.

All of the aforementioned seems insignificant in comparison to what transpired in the second leg of the semi-final match from last season, when City came to the Bernabéu with a 4-3 lead after holding three successive two-goal advantages. With Riyad Mahrez's goal making it 1-0 for the game, they would score again as they approached the 90th minute, and that's when the crazy took hold. This moment bookends the rematch and appears to be the sole topic of conversion here.

A particular generation of City supporters will always anticipate a setback for their side. It makes sense when you consider how they once played keep-ball by the corner flag in order to secure the draw they needed to avoid relegation during a Premier League season. 

Less comical but still terrible, the Guardiola era calamities can be traced back to the club's Champions League victor, starting with Monaco and continuing through Liverpool, Tottenham, Lyon, and Chelsea. Nothing was more harsh and perplexing as the final minutes at the Bernabéu, where City had squandered opportunities to seal it after Rodrygo's two-goal barrage forced extra time.

City did not lose to the superior squad; rather, they fell to a team that was adamant that they would win and was supported by the Champions League aria and historical evidence that they would succeed. This team only needed a minute to win, even if it was the very last one.

More than Benzema, Vinicius Junior, and the rest are what City must contend with. The declarations on the pre-game tifos and the crown over the shirt's badge give off an air of entitlement and conceit.

With 17 victories and three ties in their last 20 games, two of the draws occurred in the Champions League but had no bearing on City's ability to advance. In that span, they have scored 60 goals while giving up only 12. Erling Haaland is available. They have a stronger defense, where John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Rodri have all succeeded. Their depth is truly their greatest strength.

The team's loss from last season was just Guardiola's second as a head coach at the Bernabéu in 10 visits, six of which resulted in victories. Madrid, on the other hand, has lost three of its last six games in La Liga, dropping to third with their title defense long since over. City is the underdog according to the bookmakers for a reason. It is the Champions League, though. It's Madrid.

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