Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti: Complete head-to-head record

Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola may align themselves at different points on the philosophical spectrum, but they're regarded as two of the most influential managers in the sport's history.

Both stellar midfielders during their playing days, Ancelotti and Guardiola claimed Champions League glory at the turn of the '90s and both have gone on to master the competition as managers. Combined, they've lifted the esteemed trophy on eight occasions, including the last two editions of the competition.

Ancelotti's success in 2024 extended his record as the most successful manager in Champions League history, but Guardiola is not far behind. The mutual respect between the two great thinkers is evident, with their meetings as managers showing how the pendulum can swing one way and then the other.

Here's a rundown of Guardiola's history with Ancelotti.

1. Real Madrid 1-0 Bayern Munich (23/04/14)

Pep did a pretty good job of avoiding Ancelotti at the start of his managerial career as he helped Barcelona to two Champions League titles in 2009 and 2011.

His first meeting against Ancelotti came after he'd made the switch to Bayern, who took on Don Carlo's Real in the 2013/14 Champions League semi-finals.

The Bavaria giants dominated possession in the first leg but struggled in the final third and the contest was decided by an early Karim Benzema strike.

2. Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid (29/04/14)

"I got it wrong, man. I got it totally wrong. It's a monumental f*** up. A total mess. The biggest f*** up of my life as a coach."

Guardiola doesn't get much wrong, but when he does, it goes very wrong. This was perhaps the most memorable of those occasions.

Without an away goal heading into the second leg, Bayern needed to turn things around as Real visited the Allianz. Reflecting on his side's toothless showing at the Bernabeu, Pep opted to change tack for the return leg. The possibility of a 3-4-3 and 4-2-3-1 ran through his mind before deciding on a suicidal 4-2-4.

"You are German, so be German and attack," an emotional Guardiola told his players pre-match.

Disaster ensued as the Spaniard went against his ideals and relinquished control in midfield. Pep's bravery played into Ancelotti's hands, and Real ran riot at the Allianz to inflict the biggest defeat of Guardiola's managerial career.

3. Man City 2-1 Everton (01/01/20)

Remember when Ancelotti was supposedly on the decline after taking the Everton job in the wake of his Napoli exit? Seems like a long time ago now, huh?

Anyway, Guardiola had avoided the Italian for almost six years before they met again. This time in the Premier League.

2019/20 was a pretty difficult season for City as Liverpool waltzed to the title, but Guardiola did score his first victory over Ancelotti on New Year's Day 2020.

Gabriel Jesus scored twice for the Cityzens in the second half.

4. Everton 1-3 Man City (17/02/21)

The Ancelotti era at Everton was luminous compared to what has happened after his departure. However, the Toffees were rarely a match for Pep's juggernaut.

City returned to their very best in the 2020/21 season and they extended their lead at the top of the table to ten points with a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park in February.

Richarlison cancelled out Phil Foden's opener, but second-half strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva ensured the visitors took all three points back to Manchester.

Ancelotti admitted that it was "almost impossible" to compete with City. "I think so, it is really difficult to say another name. At the moment they are the best team, they have quality, power, belief. It is very difficult to compete with them."

5. Everton 0-2 Man City (20/03/21)

City were similarly comfortable when they returned to Goodison Park a month after their league victory in Merseyside.

Ancelotti overcame Jose Mourinho in a thrilling FA Cup tie to set up this quarter-final clash against City, but their journey came to an end in the closing stages when Ilkay Gundogan headed home in the 84th minute.

Kevin De Bruyne added a second in the final minute of normal time as City progressed into the semis. Despite defeat, Ancelotti was pleased with how long his side held out. "The fact we competed, the fact we defended really well and didn't concede great opportunities to them for 80 minutes, I'm proud of my players," the Italian gushed. "Manchester City is not a normal team, they are the best."

6. Man City 5-0 Everton (23/05/21)

The Guardiola/Ancelotti duel took a backseat here. This contest was all about Sergio Aguero.

City had already put Everton to the sword by the time the Argentine was introduced to proceedings in the second half, and City's all-time record goalscorer scored twice on his final appearance for the club to put the finishing touches on a memorable career at the Etihad.

"We cannot replace him," a tearful Guardiola fretted at the end of a one-sided win. "We cannot.

"They are many players we have had to discard like him, Joe Hart and David Silva, who have helped us this club to be what it is. He came on today showed his quality for 30 minutes."

7. Man City 4-3 Real Madrid (26/04/22)

Ancelotti only returned to Real Madrid by chance, the topic of the club's vacant managerial seat coming up during a call about an enquiry into a player for Everton.

Los Blancos had won just one La Liga title in four seasons and hadn't lifted the Champions League since 2018 (a serious lean period by their modern standards) when Ancelotti returned for a second stint in charge.

The laissez-faire Italian worked wonders during his first campaign back as Real won the Spanish title and embarked on a Champions League campaign for the ages. They'd overcome Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in dramatic fashion to set up a semi-final tie with Pep's City.

The Cityzens should've been out of sight in a thrilling first leg, but Real kept coming back at them. The hosts had leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 on the night before a Karim Benzema Panenka cut the deficit to one ahead of the return leg.

"This team, these players, don't lose their minds when things aren't so good," Ancelotti pointedly noted.

8. Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (04/05/22)

City looked for all money as though they would be advancing into their second-straight Champions League final when Mahrez gave them the lead on the night with 20 minutes remaining.

But, once again, Ancelotti's stoicism paid dividends. He'd brought on Rodygo before City's opener, and it was the Brazilian who inspired Real's last-gasp comeback.

The winger scored twice in two minutes at the death to send the game to stoppage time before a Benzema penalty thrust Real into the final where they were crowned European champions for a 14th time.

"Football is unpredictable, and sometimes you have to accept it," Guardiola said after his record sixth Champions League semi-final exit.

9. Real Madrid 1-1 Man City (09/05/23)

12 months later and Ancelotti and Guardiola were butting heads again in the last four of the Champions League.

Real Madrid were the hosts for the first leg, taking the lead against the run of play as Vinicius Junior smashed in a superb opener following great work from Eduardo Camavinga.

Luckily for City, Kevin De Bruyne's form was just where they needed it to be for their biggest game of the season, and he seized upon Ilkay Gundogan's lay-off to lash a fizzing equaliser low into Thibaut Courtois' net.

10. Man City 4-0 Real Madrid (17/05/23)

As far as one-sided games go, City's 4-0 annihilation of Real in the second leg is right up there.

Guardiola's side were absolutely brilliant - outclassing their opponents in every imaginable way - from start to finish and took a two-goal lead into half-time after Bernardo Silva's quickfire brace.

Manuel Akanji's header put the game out of sight, thanks to a rather deflection off Eder Militao, before substitute Julian Alvarez put the gloss on the scoreline with a late fourth.

11. Real Madrid 3-3 Man City (09/04/24)

Guardiola and Ancelotti locked horns once more during the 2023/24 campaign in the first leg of Man City's Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, with the Spanish side hosting the first battle.

Meetings between the managers have produced some thrillers and this 3-3 draw added itself to a lengthy list.

A lightning quick start at the Bernabeu saw Real leading after 14 minutes thanks to Ruben Dias' own goal and Rodrygo's effort, despite the fact that Man City had actually taken the lead after just three minutes via Silva's smart free-kick.

The second half also produced three goals, all of which were stunners, with quick-fire screamers from Foden and Josko Gvardiol putting City in front, only for Federico Valverde to slam home an excellent volley to level proceedings.

12. Man City 1-1 Real Madrid: 3-4 pens (17/04/24)

City's reign as European champions was ended by a supremely resilient performance from Ancelotti's Madrid, who once again thwarted the threat of goal-machine Erling Haaland.

Rodrygo notched his fourth goal against City to give the visitors lead, some 15 seconds after a ridiculous piece of close control from the magnificent Jude Bellingham, only for De Bruyne to level proceedings with just over 15 minutes remaining - the Belgian punishing a rare error from Antonio Rudiger.

But Madrid stood firm to take the contest to spot kicks. As Ancelotti later revealed: "I was very confident about the penalty shootout." Andriy Lunin emerged as the hero after keeping out Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic's attempts - the Ukrainian's heroics booking Ancelotti another semi-final outing.

13. Man City 2-3 Real Madrid (11/02/25)

City and Madrid both underperformed during the inaugural Champions League league phase, forced into the play-offs after failing to secure automatic progression to the last 16. A duel fit for the final, their first leg meeting set pulses racing.

The Etihad braced itself following the Cityzens' incredibly patchy 2024/25 form but they twice celebrated as Erling Haaland struck either side of Kylian Mbappe's fortuitous effort. But an exasperated home crowd witnessed an almighty late implosion that gifted Madrid victory.

Brahim Diaz fired home an 86th-minute equaliser against his former employers before Vinicius capitalised on the indecision of Rico Lewis to race free and tee up Bellingham for a simple winner in stoppage time.

14. Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (19/02/25)

Madrid needed late goals to topple City during the first leg of their Champions League play-off, but no such drama was required during the second leg at the Santigao Bernabeu.

It was the Mbappe show as he continued his impressive record against Guardiola teams with a well-taken hat-trick. It took just four minutes for the Frenchman to open the scoring with a cheeky lob and he would kill the tie before half-time with an excellent strike that floored poor Josko Gvardiol.

The treble was completed on the hour mark as Madrid hammered home their superiority, with Nico Gonzalez's late effort nothing but a consolation as City were consigned to an early European exit.

Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti H2H record

• Games played: 14
• Guardiola wins: 6
• Draws: 2
• Ancelotti wins: 6

Goals scored

• Teams managed by Guardiola: 29
• Teams managed by Ancelotti: 24

Top scorers in Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti fixtures

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