Who Manchester City can face in the Champions Leagueplaceholder image
Who Manchester City can face in the Champions League | AFP via Getty Images
Manchester City defeated Galatasaray in the Uefa Champions League knockout stages.
Man City booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after they defeated Galatasaray 2-0 on Wednesday night.
Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki scored first-half goals to secure a precious three points as the Blues bounced back from their dire defeat against Bodo/Glimt a week ago. City knew they had to win to have any chance of a top-eight finish in the league phase, while they also needed a few results in their favour to result in a goal difference swing.
Pep Guardiola's side finished 8th in the Champions League league phase and have qualified for the knockout stage of the competition. It means they have qualified directly for the round of 16 and can only face four potential opponents.
Read More
Who Man City can face in Champions League knockout phase
Manchester City have discovered the four potential opponents they can face in the last-16 of the Champions League. Due to the format of the competition, they will play one of either Inter, Real Madrid Bodo/Glimt or Benfica in the next stage proper. City finished 8th so can only play the teams that finished in 9th, 10th, 23rd or 24th.
The Champions League knockout phase play-off draw will take place in Switzerland on Friday from 11am GMT. The teams that finished in the top eight have qualified directly for the last 16, while those who finished between 9th and 24th will be included in the knockout draw.
The first leg of the Champions League play-off round will be played across 17 and 18 February, with the second legs scheduled on 24 and 25 February. The teams that finished between 9th and 16th will be seeded and drawn to play against an unseeded team that finished between 17th and 24th. The seeded team will play the second leg at home.
There are no restrictions in the draw, which means teams from the same federation can face each other and teams can also be drawn to face teams they have already faced in the league phase. The eight teams that win the play-offs will then be drawn to face the teams that finished in the top eight in the league phase.
Champions League knockout route:
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)
Continue Reading