The sight of City boss Pep Guardiola locking managerial horns with the aristocrats of the Bernabeu once again.
The City manager boasts a storied history against the Spanish giants, primarily from his time in charge at Barcelona, when Real and Barca vied for supremacy both domestically and on the European stage.
And a detailed look at Guardiola’s individual record against Real makes for impressive and encouraging reading – especially from his reign at the Nou Camp.
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To date, Pep has faced off 17 times in competitive fixtures against Madrid from his time in charge at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola has overseen nine victories over Los Blancos, drawn with them on four occasions and experienced defeat on four occasions.
Pep’s sides are also overwhelmingly in credit in terms of goalscoring, with 33 goals for and just 20 against.
Even more impressively from a City perspective, Guardiola has assembled a fine record in terms of achieving positive results at the Bernabeu.
The 49-year-old has tasted defeat there just once in his glittering managerial career and visited seven times as Barca manager and never lost.
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Pep’s impressive record against the men from Madrid began right from the infancy of his managerial career back in 2008/9.
In what was to prove a remarkable inaugural season in the dugout for Guardiola, he guided Barcelona to the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, sweeping all before him in his debut campaign.
And it was at the Bernabeu in early May 2009 where Pep and his players laid down a memorable marker, as his Barcelona side crushed Real 6-2 in their own backyard on his first visit to the Spanish capital as manager.
Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi both claimed a brace apiece on a quite remarkable night which served as an effective La Liga title decider.
It was a result that reverberated around Europe. Not surprisingly, it carried special connotations for the manager too.
“It is not easy to win at the Bernabeu and winning like this against a team of Real’s calibre is incredible. It is a memorable night,” Guardiola reflected at the time.
“It is one of the happiest days of my footballing life. I am so happy because we have made a lot of people happy.”
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After that emphatic 6-2 win, the template was established for Guardiola and Barca’s domestic dominance as the Catalans went on to retain the Spanish title in the next two seasons.
As if to emphasis the Club’s superiority, a second Champions League title came Barcelona and Guardiola’s way once again in 2010-11, with many hailing the Barca side as one of the finest club outfits of all time.
That season also bore witness to another dazzling display of vibrant, attacking football as Barca inflicted a 5-0 La Liga rout on Real at the Nou Camp in late 2010 on a night that resonated with every one of Guardiola’s players.
“The 5-0 win was the best game I have ever played in,” Barca talisman Xavi recalled.
“There are more important games like the World Cup final, but the feeling was incredible.
“We gave ourselves a minute’s round of applause in the dressing room afterwards.”
Meanwhile, along the way to that second European Cup triumph, Guardiola was to oversee another memorable night at the Bernabeu.
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Barca secured a pivotal 2-0 win over Real in a fractious, bad tempered Champions League semi-final first leg encounter, which saw Madrid’s Pepe and manager Jose Mourinho both sent off as well as Barca’s reserve keeper Jose Pinto.
Remarkably, Guardiola was to taste defeat just once to Real in those first three seasons in charge, a 1-0 Copa del Rey final loss in 2011.
And such was his consistency overall, that from 15 meetings with Madrid, Guardiola and Barcelona’s only league loss came during his final season in charge… a 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp in 2011/12.
It was to be three years before Guardiola was to renew rivalries with Real once more, by which time he was manager of a different club and operating in a new country.
Having taken charge at German Goliaths Bayern Munich in the summer of 2013, Guardiola and Real’s paths were to cross again in that season’s Champions League semi-final.
On this occasion, however, it was Madrid who were to prevail.
A narrow 1-0 first leg loss at the Bernabeu was followed by an emphatic 4-0 victory for the Spaniards in Bayern’s own back yard – a rare setback in what was otherwise a hugely successful three-year stint in Bavaria.
Now, after a six-year hiatus, comes the renewal of an extra-special rivalry – and a first-ever competitive meeting as manager against Zidane (we did beat Real 4-1 in a pre-season friendly in 2017) - as City prepare to challenge Real for the right to progress through to the Champions League quarter-finals.
It’s a prospect Guardiola is clearly both relishing and embracing.
“It’s an incredible test for us. They have more experience in this competition. For us it’s an incredible experience to face them and we will try to compete with them and I have incredible confidence in my team,” said the City boss.
Guardiola’s record against Real Madrid as a manager
As Barcelona boss:
2008/09 (La Liga)
H: W 2-0
A: W 6-2
2009/10 (La Liga)
H: W 1-0
A: W 2-0
20010/11 (La Liga)
H: W 5-0
A: D 1-1
Champions League semi-final
A: W 2-0
H: D 1-1
Copa del Rey final
L: 0-1
2011/12 Spanish Super Cup final
A: D 2-2
H: W 3-2
La Liga
A: W 1-3
H: L 1-2
Copa del Rey quarter-final
A: W 1-2
H: D 2-2
As Bayern Munich manager
2013/14 Champions League semi-final
A: L 1-0
H: L 0-4
