Pep Guardiola was considering his favourite comeback. As he needs perhaps his greatest ever remontada, one sticks in the memory. “Aston Villa, last game, to win the Premier League,” he said. “Seventy-four minutes, 0-2.” Then came three goals in five minutes. The final day of the 2021-22 season ended with Manchester City as champions, with Ilkay Gundogan’s brace sandwiching a Rodri goal.
Guardiola can be football’s natural frontrunner, the man whose sides have led title races for much of the season, whose Barcelona dominated two Champions League finals. But as he faces Real Madrid, possibly for the last time, it is with Guardiola requiring a stunning turnaround. Fede Valverde’s hat-trick in the Bernabeu last week put City on the brink of elimination, 3-0 down. This time, at least, they have 90 minutes to orchestrate something special. City, the club that won their first Premier League title with a goal in the 20th second of the 94th minute of the 38th game of the campaign, knows it may be still later.
