Manchester City will face Real Madrid again as a rivalry is renewed in the Champions League | OneFootball

Manchester City secured their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off with their 3-1 win over Club Brugge. Following that win Pep Guardiola’s side could have been drawn against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next stage of the competition. Today City have learned their opponent for the next stage of the competition. They will face Real Madrid. The tie over two legs will see Manchester City face the current Champions League holders in a renewal of their rivalry which has grown over the past four seasons.

The first leg of the tie will be played at the Etihad Stadium on February 11 on a Tuesday night. Manchester City will travel to the Bernabeu on Wednesday, 19 February, for the second leg. Pep Guardiola’s side will face Newcastle in the Premier League in between those two fixtures.

Manchester City and Real Madrid will meet for the fourth consecutive season in the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti’s side knocked City out of the Champions League last season in the quarter-final stage of the competition. In the 22/23 season before that Pep Guardiola’s side famously dispatched Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-final stage of the competition. That victory would be a key result in City’s treble-winning season. Real Madrid completed a famous comeback in the 21/22 Champions League semi-final tie. They beat City 6-5 on aggregate after a late comeback at the Bernabeu.

READ MORE: The performance of Savinho against Brugge showed that City have a potential star on their hands.

Speaking during his pre-game press conference ahead of City’s clash with Arsenal Pep Guardiola said it feels like Manchester City is playing a derby against Carlo Ancelotti’s side. With their fourth meeting with Real in four season’s coming up there is a familiarity to the upcoming Champions League knockout playoff round tie. Guardiola told the media: “It looks like a derby already, four years in a row facing Madrid. Madrid or Bayern, both were really tough. Hopefully, we can arrive in the first leg here and the next one in Madrid as best as possible.”

The winner of the tie between City and Real Madrid will face either Bayern Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the next stage of the competition. City will be hoping that they can go one better than last season when they went out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid. A tie full of storylines and subplots awaits when the two teams face off once again in this season’s Champions League.