On Wednesday night, Manchester City brushed aside Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park. and reached the Champions League semi-finals. City manager Josep Guardiola matched Jose Mourinho’s record for most appearances in the competition’s last four.
The Citizens had to toil their way through to the next round and were once trailing by away goals thanks to an absolute beauty from Die Borussen’s Jude Bellingham in the first half. However, Riyad Mahrez equalised from the spot on the 55th minute, while youngster Phil Foden secured his team’s qualification for the next round twenty minutes later.
City will now face fellow oil-rich rivals Paris Saint Germain in the semis which is expected to be the match of the season. The Parisian meanwhile, reached the last four twice in a row, with a sweetening revenge over reigning champions Bayern Munich who beat them 1-0 in the Champions League final last year.
Mourinho and Guardiola share a long history among themselves, with the former, during his reign at the Santiago Bernabeu, often clashed with Pep, in a series of ill-tempered encounters during the El Clasicos earlier last decade. But similar to his opposite number at the Etihad Stadium, the Portuguese has made it to the semis eight times with four different clubs (Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid); winning the league on two occasions – with Porto and Inter.
Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, achieved this feat with three teams (Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City) and like Mourinho has lifted the coveted trophy two times; both with FC Barcelona in the 2008/09 and the 2010-11 season.
Meanwhile, Guardiola’s side will now focus back to the Premier League and other domestic competitions, with the idea of a quadruple still on the cards.
A crucial week awaits for them as they face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, this Saturday at Wembley, followed by the Carabao League Cup final against Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur next week.
