sport news Can Manchester City bounce back from Champions League heartache again? trends now

After yet another heartbreaking exit from the Champions League for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, it has now been over a decade since the Spaniard tasted success in Europe.  

But does history suggest more title success as the Premier League race with Liverpool goes to the wire, with City level on points at the top with one game in hand and having just four matches left to be played?

The 51-year-old won Europe's top prize twice in his early days at Barcelona in 2009 and 2011,  along with LaLiga titles.

The European Cup, however, has eluded him ever since despite exciting runs and trophy-laden spells with both Bayern Munich and Manchester City. 

Here's how his sides usually respond to a Champions League exit - and it often results in silverware. 

2009-10

Guardiola set himself a huge task, having won the Champions League along with the LaLiga in his first season in charge of Barcelona.

The Catalan giants failed to win it back-to-back as they exited in the semi-finals to Italian giants Inter Milan 3-2 on aggregate - despite a 1-0 win at home in the second leg after losing 3-1 at the San Siro.

Barca got right back on track with a 4-1 victory over Villarreal in LaLiga and they went on to win a second consecutive Spanish title by just a mere three points over rivals Real Madrid.

2011-12  

Barcelona at the time were a team hailed as one of the greatest of all-time and heavily backed to win the Champions League once again after winning the season prior.

The defending champions came unstruck against Chelsea in the semi-finals with the Blues sealing a 1-0 win in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea sat deep defending for their lives at the Nou Camp in the second leg before John Terry was sent off near the end of the first half.

The Catalan giants had a 2-1 lead on the night as the game entered its latter stages and continued to lay siege to the Chelsea goal in search of a vital third that would negate the visitors' away-goal advantage.

However, Fernando Torres dribbled the ball around Victor Valdes in the 92nd minute to send Chelsea into the final.  

Guardiola managed to rally his troops and thrash Rayo Vallecano 7-0 the weekend after that defeat before then going on to win the Spanish Cup later that season.

2013-14 

Guardiola departed Barca in 2012, therefore didn't take part in the Champions League during the 2012/13 season, but was soon back with Bayern Munich the following season.

He took over from Jupp Heynckes, who had led Bayern to Champions League glory the previous year, but he was unable to defend the crown as the Bavarians were unceremoniously dumped out in the semis by Real Madrid.

They lost 5-0 on aggregate after a 4-0 thrashing at home in the second leg.

The Bundesliga giants bounced back that weekend with a huge 4-1 victory over Hamburg before winning the league title by 15 points while also winning the German Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

2014-15 

The Spaniard suffered a second consecutive semi-final exit, but this time to his former club Barcelona, as they were blown out of the water in the first leg.

Barca scored three late goals to blaze into a 3-0 aggregate lead after the first leg at the Nou Camp - a game best remembered for Messi causing Jerome Boateng to crumble into a heap in the build-up to the second goal.

Bayern then salvaged some pride by fighting back to win the second leg 3-2 at the Allianz Arena but it wasn't enough.

Guardiola failed to help his side bounce back from that defeat as they lost 2-1 to Freiburg in their next fixture, but they had already won the Bundesliga, and crashed out of the German Cup in the semi-finals that year.

2015-16

For a three year in a row, Guardiola could only go as far as the semi-finals with Bayern, as they crashed out to Atletico Madrid on away goals.

Diego Simeone's side scrapped to a 1-0 win in the first leg in Spain and then just about held firm in the fractious return fixture, losing 2-1 to Bayern but advancing on away goals on a night in which both sides missed penalties.

Bayern responded with a 2-1 victory over Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga as they yet again secured the league title.

Later in the month, they also sealed a dramatic win over Borussia Dortmund to win the German Cup, before Guardiola decided to depart Munich for a new challenge at Manchester City in the Premier League. 

2016/17 

The last-16 tie against French

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