Man City will play Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout stage

The two teams were drawn in Nyon on Friday, and defending champions Real Madrid and 2023 winners Manchester City will rekindle their Champions League rivalry in a thrilling knockout round playoff match.

After finishing 11th and 22nd, respectively, in the new league-phase format, Real and City were not able to automatically qualify for the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams.

Teams who placed ninth through twenty-fourth will play in a two-leg playoff to go to the round of sixteen.

Real and City will play each other for the fourth year in a row after the Premier League winners avoided drawn Bayern Munich. Since 2020, they have faced each other in four knockout matches.

“Playing Real Madrid for four years in a row feels like a derby already,” City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters.

“But Madrid and Bayern were both really difficult. Hopefully, we can perform as well as we can in this first leg and then in Madrid.”

Having eliminated English clubs in the knockout stages thirteen times, the leaders of the Spanish league will be confident in their chances.

Even Manchester City crushed the Spanish team 5-1 overall in the 2023 semi-finals on their way to winning the triple, Real Madrid got back at Guardiola’s team last year by defeating them on penalties in the quarterfinals following two draws.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti stated, “We wouldn’t play them in a perfect world, but we weren’t able to get into the top eight and that’s okay.”

“Playing two more or fewer games doesn’t matter … we have the resources to deal with it.”

Given that they will play either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the round of 16, the competition does not get any easier for either team.

The playoffs will feature an all-French matchup between Paris St. Germain and Brest, as teams from the same nation are now permitted to play one another, unlike in years past. The victors will play either Barcelona or Liverpool in the round of 16.

“We have to see the positive side,” PSG coach Luis Enrique stated prior to Saturday’s matchup with the same opponents in Ligue 1. “There will be a French team in the last 16.”

“The French league is not valued enough, yet there are four French teams in the Champions League (knockouts).”

In the draw, Juventus and AC Milan avoided one other as the two Serie A teams faced Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, respectively, of the Netherlands.

But if they make it to the next round, the Italian teams might have to play Arsenal or Inter Milan.

Borussia Dortmund, last year’s runners-up, will play Sporting of Portugal, while Club Brugge will play Atalanta.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT PLAYOFFS DRAW

Club Brugge v Atalanta

Sporting v Borussia Dortmund

Manchester City v Real Madrid

Celtic v Bayern Munich

Juventus v PSV Eindhoven

Feyenoord v AC Milan

Brest v Paris St Germain

AS Monaco v Benfica

*Team mentioned second plays second leg at home

DATES

Playoff first leg: Feb. 11/12

Playoff second leg: Feb. 18/19

Last 16 draw: Feb. 21