Real Madrid learned on August 28 who [their rivals for the UEFA Champions League's first phase](https://www.si.com/onsi/soccer/real-madrid/champions-league/real-madrid-s-champions-league-opponents-key-dates-and-kickoff-times-announced) would be. Among them, Manchester City, one of the most impressive teams, will visit the Santiago Bernabéu.
The Citizens cross paths with Madrid for the fifth consecutive year, and the head coach of the Premier League side, Pep Guardiola, spoke about Thursday's draw. The Spaniard discussed facing Real Madrid once again in the elite European tournament in a press conference to analyse City's next Premier League match against Brighton.
> Face Real Madrid? It is an honour to be the rival manager with the most games played at the Bernabéu. Nice to be back in Spain.
>
> Pep Guardiola
The Catalan manager's team comes from losing at the Etihad to Tottenham (0-2) and will visit the Falmer Stadium this weekend to play the English league's third matchday.
Pep Guardiola's Record When Visiting Real Madrid
------------------------------------------------
Guardiola has accumulated 25 visits as a manager to the Santiago Bernabéu, from which he achieved victory on 13 occasions, although his only victory with City took place in the first leg of the round of 16 (1-2) in the 2019-2020 edition of the UCL.
Subsequently, he was eliminated in 2022 (3-1), before the final in Paris, and neither in 2023 nor in 2024 did he manage to overcome the merengues: first, there was a draw (1-1), which would later end with a resounding 4-0 in favour of the English at the Etihad; and, next year, there was another draw (3-3).
The last precedent between Madrid and City occurred last year. Carlo Ancelotti's team won in Manchester (2-3), while, in the return leg, Kylian Mbappé overcame the skyblues with a hat-trick (3-1).
Both teams met in the playoffs after they could not directly access the round of 16, by not finishing among the top eight classified teams.
Real Madrid have a poor record facing Guardiola as manager, having beaten him only six times in recent years. However, the Merengue outfit has been the true nightmare for the Manchester City head coach in recent meetings.
First, during his time at Bayern Munich, when in 2014 Madrid shone at the Allianz Arena with a masterclass (0-4) and, later, with Manchester City; all three times in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
_**The Latest Real Madrid News:**_