Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola bagged himself another managerial milestone after his side’s stunning 4-0 UCL win over Real Madrid.
The Premier League leaders shocked the 14-time European champions by unceremoniously dumping Real out of the Champions League. A first-half Bernardo Silva brace put Man City in control of the semi-final second leg.
After the break, an Eder Militao own-goal and a late Julian Alvarez strike wrapped up a dominating performance from the Citizens.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and his side will now play in their second UCL final in three years. This time, Inter Milan are their opponent in Istanbul. City are already clear favourites – so, they will hope to add a first-ever Champions League title to their trophy cabinet.
Wednesday’s night victory over Madrid was impressive, but it was also momentous for the Man City boss.
With the win, Pep Guardiola became the fastest manager in Champions League history to reach 100 UCL victories. The Spaniard has achieved this in just 160 matches – blowing the previous record out of the water. He can add this to his Premier League record, where Pep is the fastest coach to 100 wins as well.
100 Champions League wins is a rare feat for a manager, yet Guardiola is once again on top.
Pep Guardiola is also just the third manager to reach 100 UCL wins
Just two other legendary coaches have hit a century of Champions League victories. First of all, Sir Alex Ferguson reached this milestone during his time at Manchester United. The iconic boss took 184 matches to do so – and recorded 102 wins total throughout his career.
Following him is the manager that Pep Guardiola defeated on Wednesday night – Carlo Ancelotti. As he has managed numerous European juggernauts, it is unsurprising that the Italian was the second coach to 100 Champions League victories. Ancelotti did this in 180 games – thus four matches quicker than Fergie.
However, Pep Guardiola has beaten both of them comprehensively in this stat. Now, he can turn his attention to picking up another Champions League title.
More coaching history possible for Pep
The Manchester City boss can also become the fourth manager in Champions League history to win the competition three times. Pep Guardiola already has two UCL titles under his belt from his time at Barcelona.
Currently, just three coaches in the tournament’s history have lifted the title thrice. Zinedine Zidane is the most recent, having won three in a row as Real Madrid boss from 2016-2018. Prior to him, Liverpool’s Bob Paisley claimed three Champions Leagues in 1977, 1978, and 1981.
But leading them all is Ancelotti. He has won four UCLs – two with AC Milan (2003, 2007), and a pair with Real Madrid (2014, 2022). Guardiola, therefore, has some work to do before catching “Don Carlo” in this category.
Can Pep get his third title? We will have to wait until 10 June to see if Pep Guardiola and Man City can finally claim that long-awaited UCL crown.
Featured image credit: Getty