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Why Man City see themselves in Real Madrid as they bid to keep season alive Four times in four seasons now, Real Madrid and Manchester City have met in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and on each of the last three the victors have gone on to lift the trophy.
Still fully eight matches from the final in Munich, Guardiola was unsurprisingly hesitant to talk of this competition as offering an obvious route to salvation for a season that saw the Premier League title surrendered long ago.
Where Madrid’s struggles are behind them - they finished the league phase with a rattle, winning three on the spin, and are top of LaLiga - City’s stubbornly remain.
In four previous appearances versus Real Madrid, Haaland is yet to score; there is not a team anywhere else on the planet he has faced more often without finding the net.
Could they, in other words, be like the Real Madrid of a decade ago, who won four Champions Leagues in five seasons while only once ruling their own roost?
