And then he raised the eyebrow.That’s the start of almost every fairytale with Carlo Ancelotti in the starring role.And that’s the story we witnessed on Wednesday night, too, as Real Madrid managed to survive the Etihad cauldron and reach the UEFA Champions League semi-final.Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City suffered a painful defeat at home ground, thus failing to stay in contention for the second European title in a row.UCL: City hit Real’s defensive wall and lost the title in ManchesterHowever, this outcome is even more intriguing because it was the third time Carletto had eliminated Pep in the UCL knockout stages.Ten years ago, Ancelotti’s Madrid rolled over Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, and we still remember that iconic quarter-final clash two years ago. The Royals made a spectacular comeback led by fantastic Karim Benzema to edge the Cityzens in the unforgettable two-leg tie.Carlo Ancelotti is the first manager to knock Pep Guardiola out of the Champions League in three different campaigns:◎ 2014 Semi-final vs. Bayern◎ 2022 Semi-final vs. Man City◉ 2024 Quarter-final vs. Man CityThe Don went on to win the previous two times. 🤨#UCL pic.twitter.com/jVaflwBpEN— Squawka (@Squawka) April 17, 2024 Last year, City were able to pay the debt and trash the Spaniards, but no one beats Carletto or Real Madrid two times in a row. Interestingly enough, the last side that eliminated Los Blancos from Europe two seasons in a row was AC Milan in the late 80s and early 90s, with one familiar name in the squad – Carlo Ancelotti.##NAJAVA_MECA_8039093##Carletto was absolutely delighted with his side’s fighting instincts against Man City, as he told Movistar (via Marca) post-match.”We started well, we took the lead and then we suffered, fought, sacrificed. We defended too deep, City had more control, although they always have more control. I think we defended very, very well.”We’ve seen Real Madrid many times this season, which brings out something that nobody thought we were going to have. In the shootout, we were very convinced that we would qualify. Obviously, I really like it when I see a team that sacrifices and fights, as well as the quality… Winning here could only be done this way.”🗣️ Carlo Ancelotti: “Pep Guardiola congratulated us and wished us luck, he is a gentleman, as always.” pic.twitter.com/zDj10md9np— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 17, 2024 City boss Guardiola was philosophical about the defeat for his side but couldn’t avoid the fact he felt the tie should have been settled before the shootout, given the number of chances his team created.”We did everything, I don’t have any regrets. As a manager, always try to create more and concede less. There were one, two or three transitions, but that was normal. We played exceptionally well in all departments. Unfortunately, we could not win. That is how it is.”Today, they defended deeper than the previous seasons. We created chances. But football is about scoring goals. From the penalty spot, they did it a bit better than us. Sometimes you win with penalties, sometimes not. The way we played, we should have done it before.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8039113##Guardiola confirmed that the decision to substitute Erling Haaland at the end of normal time and De Bruyne in extra-time, along with Manuel Akanji, came following requests from the players. “Erling and Kevin asked me to come out,” he revealed. “They could not continue. Same as Manu (Akanji).”
