Peerless Pep is proving again why he is the greatest manager of the modern era

IT feels like a long time too long - since Pep Guardiola dominated the headlines in England or Europe.

- camondunphy

In football, the spotlight moves quickly. Heroes fade, geniuses retreat to the edges and sometimes the greatest minds in the game simply disappear from the conversation for a season or two.

And that happened to Pep, first with Liverpool's spectacular Premier League performance last year, second with City's flat, low-energy limp over the course of the 2024/25 season.

That combo meant Pep quietly drifted out of the limelight.

But he's back.

He is very much back.

And on Wednesday night, in the Bernabeu, we saw the unmistakable signs of a great manager returning to centre stage when City beat Real Madrid 2-1.

The scoreline was almost irrelevant. Real Madrid, the most powerful European club of them all, were made to look ordinary. Ordinary! By a City team that is barely finished being built.

Because that's the real story here: this is not last year's City. Nor is it the Treble-winning team. This is a new Pep Guardiola team. And that is why this matters.

People have spent years sneering at Guardiola's success, muttering the same lazy refrain that he only wins because he spends more than anyone else.

The implication being that Pep is some sort of footballing accountant - place enough expensive toys around him and he'll eventually figure out how to use them.

It has always been nonsense.

Football doesn't work like that.