Eight days on from a captivating six-goal spectacular at the Bernabeu, Manchester City and Real Madrid reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday evening.
The defending champions and 14-time winners shook hands on a 3-3 draw at the end of the 90 in the Spanish capital, before earning respective domestic wins to retain their standing at the top of the Premier League and La Liga tables respectively.
Wednesday's second leg will be the 12th competitive meeting between the Sky Blues and Los Blancos, one of whom will square off with Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the final four with a priceless victory on Mancunian soil.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 11
Man City wins: 4
Draws: 4
Real Madrid wins: 3
Man City and Real Madrid's head-to-head record is appropriately as tight as last week's first leg was, with the Manchester giants boasting four triumphs compared to three for their La Liga counterparts, while another four encounters have ended level.
As well as sharing six goals between them last week, the Bernabeu crowd were treated to an array of spectacular strikes, as Phil Foden, Federico Valverde, Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva all found the mark from range in an unforgettable battle.
While Valverde's strike - which salvaged a draw for the men in white - may have been the pick of the bunch, the Uruguayan's effort could not prevent Real Madrid from extending their winless streak in this matchup to three games, a run which includes last year's 4-0 Etihad embarrassment.
Owing to that semi-final slaughter, Man City boast three wins from their last three home clashes with Real Madrid and have navigated all five of their home games against Los Blancos without suffering defeat, earning draws in the 2012-13 group stage and 2015-16 semis.
Having also masterminded a 2-1 last-16 success in 2020 and 4-3 semi-final triumph in 2022, Guardiola could now become just the second man to oversee four straight home wins over Real Madrid, emulating former Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld from 2000 to 2002.
A team record could also be matched by the reigning champions this week, as only Italian powerhouses AC Milan have ever knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League in successive seasons, doing so in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 campaigns and being crowned European champions on both occasions.
Fire will seemingly have to be fought with fire for Wednesday's competitors, who have shared a staggering 23 goals across their last five matches - an average of 4.6 per game - and three of last week's strikes arrived with just 14 minutes on the clock.
Only one other Champions League knockout game has seen three goals fly in so early - Man City's 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 - and with both managers able to call upon all of their attacking options, expect frequent attacking blows to be traded in Wednesday's winner-takes-all showdown.
Previous meetings
Apr 09, 2024: Real Madrid 3-3 Man City (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
May 17, 2023: Man City 4-0 Real Madrid (Champions League Semi-Finals)
May 09, 2023: Real Madrid 1-1 Man City (Champions League Semi-Finals)
May 04, 2022: Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 26, 2022: Man City 4-3 Real Madrid (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Aug 07, 2020: Man City 2-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Round of 16)
Feb 26, 2020: Real Madrid 1-2 Man City (Champions League Round of 16)
May 04, 2016: Real Madrid 1-0 Man City (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 26, 2016: Man City 0-0 Real Madrid (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Nov 21, 2012: Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Group Stage)
Sep 18, 2012: Real Madrid 3-2 Man City (Champions League Group Stage)
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