Feb 27, 2026, 10:54 PM
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits it feels "a little bit weird" to be facing Real Madrid in the Champions League yet again.
City were paired with the Spanish giants in Friday's draw for the last 16 -- a two-legged tie that will take the number of encounters between the clubs to 13 since Guardiola took charge at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
It is also only a little over two months since their last meeting in the league phase of this season's competition.
Under the old group-stage format, they would have been kept apart until at least the quarterfinals.
Newcastle vs. Barcelona and Galatasaray vs. Liverpool are also repeats of league phase games while Madrid played Benfica in the playoff round having met in the last match of the first stage.
"Yes, it is a little bit weird," Guardiola said of the format. "Not many times does it happen that the last game of the group stage -- like Real Madrid v Benfica -- is the first draw.
Man City and Pep Guardiola will face off against Real Madrid in the Champions league once more. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
"It looks different. People will agree or disagree but it is different.
"But why not? In the Premier League and cups how many times have we played against Newcastle this season? Hopefully we can play against them in the final.
"When I started it was eight, nine, 10 teams [in the Champions League]. It is a question of adapting.
"A Madrid draw is a Madrid draw. What can we do?"
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Should City progress, they will face either Bayern Munich or Atalanta and they could play holders Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals.
On paper it seems they are in the tougher half of the draw but Guardiola insists there is no such thing.
He said: "That would be so disrespectful, for example to Newcastle, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid or Spurs. The Champions League is so difficult.
"I'm not saying Madrid is not difficult, everybody knows that, but the rest of the teams that you play -- you can name me any team, all of them have the 'trick.'
"If you want to go through in this competition right now you have to win against the best teams, otherwise you don't deserve it."