Guardiola’s Nightmare: Unprecedented Records for Manchester City
It was a disastrous night for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium as they suffered a painful 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. To make matters worse, City set several negative records in the process.
Madrid fired 20 shots on City’s goal—more than any team has managed at the Etihad since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016. In response, City managed just 12 attempts, highlighting their struggle to contain the Spanish side’s relentless attack.
This defeat was also City’s 12th loss of the season. It ties their unwanted record from the 2019/20 campaign, when they lost 12 times across the entire season. This time, however, the mark was reached in just a little over half of the current campaign.
Another telling statistic is the xG (Expected Goals) comparison: 1.6 for City versus 3.42 for Madrid. The visitors had more than twice the attacking quality, leaving little doubt about who dominated the game.