Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti strolled nonchalantly away from a scene of carnage as Manchester City's Treble dream was left in tatters by the great Champions League survivors.
Ancelotti has seen most things in football - including plenty of success as the only man to win this tournament four times - but even the most famous raised eyebrow in the game must have nudged skywards a little more than usual at the manner of this quarter-final victory.
Real went through 4-3 on penalties after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate, 1-1 on the night here, but City will wonder long and hard at how they failed to win a game they dominated almost completely.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta says he must show his Arsenal side "support and love" after Bayern Munich knocked them out of the Champions League.
Joshua Kimmich's second-half header in Germany gave Bayern a 1-0 win on the night, and a 3-2 aggregate victory in their quarter-final.
It was a second successive defeat for Arsenal, who lost control of the Premier League title race last Sunday as Aston Villa beat them 2-0. "I wish I had the right words to say to the players to make them feel better. What I am going to do - and all the coaching staff too - is to be close to the players." Arteta said.
"I feel so grateful to be the coach and to work with them every single day." "We haven't played this competition for seven years and we haven't been in this stage for 14 years," he said.
"There's a reason for it.
However, City's players slumped in despair as Antonio Rudiger's penalty secured a semi-final against Bayern Munich, while what seemed like dozens of Real players and officials headed off to their supporters tucked in the far corner of Etihad Stadium.
City thrashed Real 4-0 here in the semi-final second leg last season, revenge for Ancelotti's side somehow extricating themselves from defeat with two stoppage-time goals before going on to win at the Bernabeu at the same stage in the previous campaign.
In that hammering last term, City had 16 shots to Real's seven, here they had 33 shots to the visitors' eight but this time came out on the losing end.
It came down, as it always does at this level, to the finest details and City's lack of cutting edge stood between them and a victory they deserved on the balance of play.
They even had the early edge on penalties when Ederson saved from Luka Modric but only Bernardo Silva will know what he was thinking when he lazily lofted a dismal spot-kick straight into the hands of keeper Andriy Lunin.
If you give Real an inch they take a mile, Mateo Kovacic's penalty, again saved by the excellent Lunin, further sealing their fate.
The law of the Champions League states that if you do not kill Real off when you have the opportunity there is every chance you will pay the price. And City have now broken that golden rule twice.
It would be harsh to criticise the Premier League champions' performance, which was outstanding for so long, pinning Real back with a sustained assault in the second half that was eventually rewarded by Kevin De Bruyne's 76th-minute equaliser to cancel out Rodrygo's early strike.
Real were, literally in many instances, run to a standstill until blessed relief came in the shape of the final whistle and penalties.
And this will be the frustration for City and Guardiola, who thanked his players for their efforts but admitted he must wait to see what condition they are in after a gruelling evening on every level.