Guardiola surpasses Mourinho, Ferguson & Ancelotti with Champions League knockout win record

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has moved ahead of some big names with his latest European victory with Manchester City

boss Pep Guardiola has surpassed Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti for the most wins by a manager in the knockout stage.

Guardiola's side came from behind to stun Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

A two-time Champions League winner while at the helm of , Guardiola made history courtesy of City's victory.

It was his 28th win in the Champions League knockout stage, moving him past Ferguson, Mourinho and Ancelotti, who all have 27.

The stat may come as some vindication for Guardiola, whose approach in the knockout stages of the competition has been questioned since his time at .

He came under heavy scrutiny last season when City were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by after making some surprise selections in the first leg.

Indeed, he joked about such criticisms in the wake of City’s win in Madrid , after claiming a deserved victory with some unconventional tactical decisions .

Guardiola also became the manager with the most wins against Madrid in all competitions in the 21st century, surpassing Ernesto Valverde and Diego Simeone with 10 victories.

It was Guardiola’s sixth victory as manager at the Bernabeu – the most of any away manager.

He also became only the second manager to win two Champions League away games against Madrid, following the legendary Ottmar Hitzfeld – and the first to do so with two different clubs.

Now, Guardiola will be keen to ensure his side don’t take their eye off the ball ahead of the second leg in Manchester.

Isco capitalised on some absent-minded defending to give Madrid the lead after an hour, with Gabriel Jesus nodding City level and Kevin De Bruyne winning the game from the penalty spot.

City take an away-goal advantage into the second leg, while Madrid will be without captain Sergio Ramos after a late red card .

Benjamin Mendy will also miss out on the return fixture after picking up his third Champions League booking of the season for a foul on Luka Modric.

Next up, City have a Final date with to look forward to.