Real Madrid and Manchester City are guaranteed to make Champions League history after being drawn against each other in the last 16.
Pep Guardiola’s side secured a top-eight finish in this season’s League Phase to qualify automatically for the last 16, while Alvaro Arbeloa’s men entered the knockout playoff rounds and beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
The last-16 draw was conducted on Friday, confirming that Real Madrid will host Man City at the Bernabeu in the first leg on March 11 before they travel to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg on March 18.
Real Madrid and Man City have already locked horns in this season’s competition, with the Premier League side claiming a 2-1 away victory on matchday six of the League Phase in November, courtesy of goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland.
A European rivalry has formed between these two sides, as they have butted heads 15 times in total in the Champions League, facing one another in each of the last five years including four successive knockout round meetings.
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Real Madrid, Man City to meet for record-breaking fifth successive year in UCL knockouts
Following Friday’s last-16 draw, Real Madrid vs. Man City will become the first fixture in Champions League history to be played in the knockout stages in five consecutive campaigns.
Across the previous 15 meetings, there has been very little to separate Real and City, who have won five matches each and have also played out five draws. While Los Blancos have scoring 25 goals, the Citizens have netted 26 times.
Real Madrid have fared slightly better across the previous five two-legged knockout ties with Man City, progressing from three of those since the 2019-20 campaign, most recently winning 6-3 on aggregate in the knockout playoff round of last season’s Champions League.
Reacting to the last-16 draw, Guardiola emphasised that Man City's latest clash with Real Madrid will help his team to adapt as they chase down silverware on multiple fronts in the coming months.
“For our club, as much as we play against the best teams in this competition we’ll learn and improve and you are better in the future,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
Real Madrid vs. Man City is “like a final”, says City chief Viana
Meanwhile, Man City sporting director Hugo Viana believes that this mouthwatering contest will be viewed by many, including himself, as a final.
“It’s a big game for both teams,” Viana said following the draw at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon.
“We played against each other already in the group phase. It will be a really nice game to watch and a nice game to be involved in. Of course it’s like a final.
“We are happy to go there again and to have this kind of opponent and these kind of games.”
The victors of this eagerly-anticipated tie will face either Atalanta BC or Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals eight, before facing one of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Galatasaray or Liverpool in the semi-finals.
However, when asked about progressing in the Champions League, Viana was not keen to loo too far ahead, adding: “It’s too soon to speak about the final, we should think about it game by game. Now we have a strong opponent to face and we cannot think about the final.”
While Real Madrid are bidding to win a record-extending 16th Champions League trophy this season, Man City are hoping to get their hands on Europe’s biggest club prize for the second time after winning in 2023.