A video of Pep Guardiola looking worried before Manchester City's spectacular collapse against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening has gone viral.
Guardiola's side collapsed in the Spanish capital after conceding two last-minute Rodrygo goals, throwing away a 5-3 aggregate lead. Karim Benzema then scored the winner in extra-time to complete a remarkable comeback for the 13-time European champions.
And some believe Guardiola knew the defeat was coming. In the video, the Spaniard is seen watching Real manager Carlo Ancelotti speak to the press ahead of kick-off. He appears disheartened, putting his head in hands before nodding in disbelief.
Wednesday evening's result means Guardiola has failed six times to win the Champions League at City... and another surprise defeat. They were backed to beat Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham, Lyon and Chelsea in their five previous failures.
"I have not seen a team capitulate and collapse and bottle a game like that," former Premier League defender Jason Cundy told talkSPORT. "They had gone. This is going to be hard to take as a City fan, but they bottled that. They bottled that tonight."
City boasted a 4-3 advantage from the first leg in Manchester and many thought they'd reach the final after Riyad Mahrez made it 1-0 in Madrid. "We were close, but in the end we could not reach it," admitted Guardiola in his post-match interview.
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"It is simple. In the first-half we did not have game, we were not good enough. But we did not suffer much. After we scored the goal we were better. We found our tempo and our game and the players were comfortable.
"It is not like in the last 10 minutes they attack and attack and you suffer. It didn't happen. They put a lot of players in the box, with Militao, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Benzema and they put in crosses and scored two goals. We didn't play our best, but it is normal.
"A semi-final, the players feel the pressure and wanting to do it. Football is unpredictable, it is a game like this. We have to accept it. Now we need to process that and come back, with our people at home and the last four games we have."
City's last chance of winning silverware is the Premier League. Guardiola's side are one point clear of title rivals Liverpool at the top of the table and face Newcastle, Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa in their final four fixtures.
The defending champions will probably need to win all four games if they are to lift the title, as it's unlikely Liverpool will drop a point. The Reds have failed to win just one of their last 14 league outings, their pulsating 2-2 draw against City in April.
Liverpool's final four Premier League fixtures are against Tottenham, Aston Villa, Southampton and Wolves. The home game against Spurs on Saturday is perhaps the hardest, as the Londoners have taken seven points off City and Liverpool this season.
