Seeking to keep their treble-winning hopes alive, Manchester City make the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to lock horns with Champions League holders Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola's side extended their impressive unbeaten run across all competitions to 20 matches when they secured a 2-1 home victory over Leeds United on Saturday to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League table.
Fixtures continue to come thick and fast for the Citizens, who comfortably beat German giants Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-finals last month to progress to their third successive semi-final and their fourth in the history of the competition.
Man City now come up against familiar opponents in the form of 14-time champions Real Madrid, who they faced over two legs at this stage last season, and with revenge sure to be on the minds of Guardiola's players ahead of Tuesday's first leg, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the Citizens' previous outings at the Champions League semi-final stage.
2015-16 – Real Madrid beat Manchester City 1-0 on aggregate
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Man City reached their first-ever Champions League semi-final six seasons ago under the tutelage of Manuel Pellegrini after topping their group and eliminating Dynamo Kyiv and Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout rounds.
However, the Citizens were eventually stopped in their tracks by eventual winners Real Madrid, going out in the last four courtesy of a narrow 1-0 aggregate defeat.
Following a drab goalless draw in the first leg at the Etihad in which both sides failed to register a single shot on target, City knew that a score draw or a victory in the second leg at the Bernabeu would sent them through to the final.
However, the loss of captain Vincent Kompany to injury just 10 minutes in was a major blow, before an own goal from Fernando on the 20-minute mark turned out to be the match-winner that helped Los Blancos scrape through to the showpiece event in Milan, where they beat rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties.
2020-21 – Manchester City beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate
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Guardiola was unable to guide Man City into the Champions League semi-finals in each of his first four seasons at the Etihad, but at the fifth time of asking his Citizens side reached the last four courtesy of an impressive 10-game unbeaten run – winning nine times and drawing just once while scoring 21 goals and conceding only four in the process.
French champions PSG were standing in their way and Mauricio Pochettino's side drew first blood at the Parc des Princes when Marquinhos headed home a 15th-minute opener. However, City turned the first leg on its head thanks to second-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez, before Idrissa Gueye saw red in the closing stages.
In surprisingly snowy conditions for the month of May, Mahrez followed up his match-winner in Paris with a brace in Manchester to help City run out 2-0 winners in the second leg against a Kylian Mbappe-less PSG side, who had Angel di Maria sent off for stamping on Fernandinho.
The Citizens secured a deserved 4-1 aggregate triumph to progress to their first-ever Champions League final, where they ultimately suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to fellow Premier League side Chelsea in Porto.
2021-22 – Real Madrid beat Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate
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After edging past Atletico Madrid 1-0 on aggregate in an ill-tempered quarter-final, Man City were involved in one of the most extraordinary Champions League semi-finals in recent memory when they renewed acquaintances with another Spanish capital club in Real Madrid.
The Citizens came out on top in a thrilling 4-3 first-leg victory at the Etihad courtesy of goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, but Guardiola's men came away disappointed after missing a plethora of other chances to put the tie to bed, and goals from Karim Benzema (2) and Vinicius Junior provided hope for Los Blancos heading into a second leg that had a lot to live up to.
While five goals were scored inside the first 73 minutes of the first leg, it took the same length of time for the deadlock to be broken in the reverse fixture, with Mahrez firing past Thibaut Courtois at his near post to put City in control at the Bernabeu and two goals ahead on aggregate.
Jack Grealish came agonisingly close on two occasions to seal victory for Guardiola's side in the 87th minute, but was denied by Ferland Mendy's goalline clearance and the left boot of Courtois, before Real Madrid produced one of the all-time greatest comebacks to stun the Citizens at the death.
After failing to register a single shot on target in the first 89 minutes of the contest, two goals in two minutes from Los Blancos substitute Rodrygo forced extra-time in dramatic fashion, before Benzema slotted home an ice-cool penalty kick five minutes after the interval to send a devastated City side packing.
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Oliver Thomas
