Pep Guardiola must hope they do not one day talk in Manchester of the night his team scored four against Real Madrid and still didn't make the final. That is the fear that stalks the Spaniard as his Manchester City side prepare for the return leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.
On one hand, last week's performance against the 13-time winners of the European Cup shows just how far City have travelled since Guardiola arrived at the club in 2016. In beating Real 4-3 at the Etihad, City were far more superior to their opponents than the scoreline suggested.
Equally, a game that saw Real outplayed for long periods but in which they still managed to score three times illustrates just how difficult things may be here on Wednesday night, especially if Carlo Ancelotti's team are allowed to build any kind of momentum in front of their own supporters.
Pep Guardiola hopes his Manchester City side will go in the right direction against Real Madrid
City arrived in Madrid on Tuesday with a 4-3 lead from the Champions League semi first leg
This tie should effectively be over and Guardiola and his players know that. City conceded bad goals and, for all the brilliance and excitement of last week's game, the last thing they really need is a repeat of the spectacle on Wednesday night.
If this game is allowed to become a shootout then it may just be that Real find themselves with the better gunslingers.
No, what Guardiola requires from his players here is a proper, grown-up European performance. City have a lead and it is almost inconceivable that they will not score at least one goal, because they always do. That being the case, Real would require three to progress - or two to force penalties. Is it too much to ask the Premier League leaders and champions to prevent that happening? It really should not be.
City can usually be expected to defend rather better than they did last week. Real's second goal saw Brazilian Vinicius Junior run from his own half to score. Their third was from a penalty given away by a needless and soft handball.
Guardiola should not expect this to happen again. He will expect Real - as the home team - to have more of the ball than last week's 40 per cent, but at the same time will wish them to have to work harder to score.
With John Stones not fit enough to travel, Guardiola can still expect to field a formidable back four, with the reliable Ruben Dias partnering Aymeric Laporte at the heart of it. Ahead of them will be the equally sturdy holding player Rodri,
