The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu next month
Real Madrid and Manchester City will face each other in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth consecutive season after being drawn this Friday (27) to play against each other in the round of 16while the current champions Paris Saint-Germain will face Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu next month before traveling to England to return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league stage, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
This allowed City, winners of the Champions League in 2023, to advance straight to the round of 16, while Madrid had to go through the knockout stage play-offs, in which they defeated Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout stage play-offs last season, and in the quarter-finals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semi-finals in 2022, with City winning at the same stage the following year.
Draw for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League:
- Real Madrid (ESP) x Manchester City (ING)
- Bodo/Glimt (NOR) x Sporting (POR)
- Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) x Chelsea (ING)
- Newcastle United (ING) x Barcelona (ESP)
- Galatasaray (TUR) x Liverpool (ING)
- Atletico Madrid (ESP) x Tottenham Hotspur (ING)
- Atalanta (ITA) x Bayern Munich (ALE)
- Bayer Leverkusen (ALE) x Arsenal (ING)
PSG will play Chelsea at home in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league stage.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those quarter-final clashes and PSG triumphing in the round of 16 in the next two.
Their last meeting came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who previously faced PSG in Ligue 1 as Strasbourg’s coach.
Meanwhile, the Newcastle United will face Barcelona in the first leg at St James’ Park — the Spanish team won 2-1 there during the league stage in September.
There are a record total of six English clubs in the round of 16. Liverpool will have a rematch against Galatasaray, having beaten the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league stage.
Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid.
German champions Bayern Munich will play against Atalanta, the only Italian club left in the competition, while Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt’s reward for eliminating Inter Milan is a round of 16 clash against Sporting Portugal.
The first legs will take place on March 10th and 11th, with matches returning a week later. Teams that qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league stage will all play at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
*AFP
