Manchester City will be looking to set a new unbeaten club record when they face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Citizens had their dreams of winning an unprecedented double-treble quashed in midweek as they were beaten on penalties by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Pep Guardiola's side were staring down the barrel of defeat in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium as they entered the final 15 minutes of normal time a goal behind courtesy of Rodrygo's early first-half opener.
However, Kevin De Bruyne netted a 76th-minute equaliser to ensure that Man City would avoid defeat in 90 minutes and take the tie into extra time.
In the end, City were made to rue a plethora of missed opportunities and were unable to make their dominance count, as a resilient Real Madrid outfit admirably held on to take the tie to penalties before knocking out the holders 4-3 in the shootout.
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Man City on cusp of making history
Despite the defeat on penalties, Man City's draw in 90 minutes has seen them equal a century-old club record for their longest ever unbeaten home run in all competitions (42 games).
The Citizens will have to wait until May 4 before they can attempt to break that record against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, but Guardiola and co can instead set a different unbeaten record in this weekend's FA Cup clash with Chelsea.
Indeed, City will put together a 29-game unbeaten run in all competitions (home and away) for the first time in their history if they avoid defeat in 90 minutes against Mauricio Pochettino's side at Wembley.
Achieving such a feat would see the Citizens surpass the 28-game unbeaten streak that they set between April 2017 and December 2017 in Guardiola's second year in charge of the club.
Man City last tasted defeat on December 6 when they lost 1-0 at Aston Villa in the Premier League, and they have since won 22 and drawn five of their last 28 matches across four different competitions.
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Guardiola urges Man City to bounce back from Champions League exit
Guardiola has acknowledged the disappointment that he and his Man City side felt in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's penalty-shootout defeat, but the Catalan boss has encouraged his players to not dwell on the result and bounce back with victory over Chelsea this weekend.
Asked at his pre-match press conference on Friday whether his Man City squad are ready to return to action, Guardiola said: "We have no other option. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. In football you lose games. We performed at our best and we could not win.
"We will reflect in the summer about what happened during the season. You compete to win. It hasn't happened many times in the last seasons but sometimes you lose games. That's what happened.
"[The mood] Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow, better than today. We did everything (to beat Real Madrid) They know it, we know it, but it was not enough. We congratulate them and tomorrow, FA Cup."
Man City's recent record against Chelsea bodes well ahead of Saturday's contest, as they have not lost any of their last eight meetings with the West Londoners in all competitions (W6 D2), including two enthralling draws in the Premier League this season.
Oliver Thomas
