Manchester City’s stunning Champions League semi-final win over Real Madrid banished the “pain” of last year’s defeat, says manager Pep Guardiola. City produced a relentless performance at Etihad Stadium to beat Real 4-0 – and 5-1 on aggregate.
At the same stage last year Real overturned a 4-3 defeat in the first leg with a remarkable late comeback in the second before winning the final. “When the draw was Madrid, I said, ‘yeah, I want it’,” Guardiola said. “I had the feeling these last days that we had a mix of calm and tension to play these type of games. “After 10 or 15 minutes, I was feeling all the pain that we had [with] what happened last season.
“It was really tough, losing the way we lost and I think in the moment we had to swallow poison. “But during one year we showed how special a group of players these are.”
