Pep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City's Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid reminded him of Barcelona's loss to Chelsea at the same point in 2012.
City led throughout the duration of the two-leg tie and were only seconds away from a 5-3 aggregate triumph, only for Rodrygo to score two late goals to take the tie to extra-time, when Karim Benzema scored from the penalty spot to secure a final berth for Los Blancos.
Back in 2012, Guardiola's Barcelona were clearly the better team, but they were undone by Chelsea, who stole a 1-0 win in the first leg before a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou took Roberto Di Matteo's side through to the final.
"I've always had defeats in the Champions League, I've had defeats so tough," Guardiola said post-match in Madrid. "Barcelona against Chelsea, when both games were exceptional and we could not reach the final.
"It's tough for us, we cannot deny. We were so close to arrive at a Champions League final."
Guardiola insisted that his team buckled under the weight of the occasion, admitting that things did not go as planned for City.
"We didn't play good in the first half, we didn't find out game, but that's normal. In this competition, it's normal," he continued.
"The second half was much better...much, much better. After the goal, we controlled the game. Jack Grealish helped us to control the game, but unfortunately we could not finish when we were close."