Pep Guardiola understood how this might go. He knew that things were different this year, that the resumption of the UEFA Champions League in an accelerated format, going from two-legged ties to straight knockout games, had already yielded surprises. Paris Saint-Germain’s injury-time comeback against Atalanta. RB Leipzig’s upset of Atletico Madrid. Bayern Munich’s astonishing 8-2 pulverization of Barcelona.
“Every game is a final from now on,” the Catalan Manchester City manager declared ahead of Saturday’s quarterfinal vs. Lyon. “Playing just a single game makes it quite different. … In this situation there is no second chance.