Ecstasy for Ancelotti, Agony for Guardiola as Star Coaches Make Contrasting Champions League History

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and Man City's Pep Guardiola are widely regarded as two of the most successful managers in football history. While the Italian is the only coach ever to win Europe's top five leagues, the Catalan holds the record for most wins in a row in the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola scripted contrasting histories in Real Madrid's dramatic comeback win over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday night, with both the legendary managers experiencing different types of emotions on the pitch.

It was ecstasy for the Italian as Real's 3-1 win in the match and a 6-5 victory on aggregate over the Premier League winners made him the first manager ever to appear in five Champions League finals.

Ancelotti had previously led AC Milan to the decider in 2003, 2005 and 2007 before guiding Madrid to that stage in 2014 during his first stint as coach at the Santiago Bernabeu.

On the other hand, it was despair and agony for Guardiola, as he went on to register a forgettable record in the prestigious European club tournament.

With his sixth defeat in a Champions League semifinal, the Spaniard now shares the record for the most losses at that stage with ex-Manchester United manager and current Roma boss Jose Mourinho.

After the match, Ancelotti hailed his team's stunning comeback against City and credited the club's history for instilling the belief in his players that even the unthinkable could be achieved.

"I cannot say we are used to living this kind of life, but what happened tonight it happened against Chelsea and also against PSG," Ancelotti told BT Sport.

"If you have to say why, it is the history of this club that helps us to keep going when it seems that we are gone," he added.

The Spanish outfit's triumph over the current Premier League table toppers has been described as "miraculous" by several sections of the media, including Goal.com as the hosts were trailing the visitors 5-3 with just a minute left in regular time.

But what happened in the next seven minutes was simply hard to believe as a stunning double from Rodrygo in the 90th and the 91st minutes levelled the scores at 5-5, pushing the match into extra time.

Karim Benzema had brought Madrid back from the brink on many occasions this year and once again, he was the man who secured his side's place in the final with a 95th minute winner.

Guardiola and his men, meanwhile, were still reeling from the after-effects of their self-destruction.

The City boss even described the environment inside the change room as "sad".

"I had defeats in the Champions League, at Barcelona and we could not reach the final, but there's no doubt it's hard for us. We need time to process that and come back with our people at home for the last four games. The players are sad," Guardiola said.