Carlo Ancelotti had only one wish for the Champions League playoffs after the victory over Brest in the last round.
"I wouldn't like to play against Manchester City," said the Italian.
Only City and Celtic were in the running to be the rivals of the current European champions, and exactly what Ancelotti did not want happened, so Real and the "citizens" are scheduling new clashes in the European elite ranks.
The club that was the champion of the Old Continent 15 times and one of the best teams in the last 20 years in European football have thus become the on-call rivals in the knockout stage.
This is the fourth season in a row that Real and City have directly decided on relegation, and the fifth in the last six - such a streak is not remembered in the recent past...
So far, the two great rivals have won twice each in these clashes.
On their way to the 2021 final, where they were defeated by Chelsea, City celebrated in the round of 2 when they won both legs 1-XNUMX.
Guardiola's team also looked forward to 2023, when they won their only title in this competition so far - then they beat Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
After a 1-1 draw in Madrid at the Etihad, there was no question of a trip to the finals, as the Citizens inflicted one of the heaviest defeats in the Champions League on the giants - 4-0 with unprecedented dominance...
City later defeated Inter in the Istanbul final thanks to a goal from Rodri, and now the absence of the Spaniard - the Ballon d'Or winner who ended the season in September due to a knee injury - is the biggest handicap for Guardiola's team, which does not look like itself.
"We have added two very difficult games to an already difficult schedule. It is even more difficult now because in between the matches with Real Madrid we have Newcastle," said Guardiola.
City and Real - now it's a serious rivalry.
"It has become a real European derby. We knew it couldn't be easy, because Real or Bayern - it doesn't make any difference at this moment. I hope we will be right in both games," added Guardiola.
Bayern was the lucky one, because the moment the draw brought Real and City together, it became clear that the Bavarians would face Celtic in the fight for a place in the round of 16.
The first leg of the play-offs is scheduled for February 11th and 12th, with the return matches on the 18th and 19th.
Potential rivals for Real, City, Bayern and Celtic in the round of 16 are Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.
Juventus and Milan have avoided each other, heading to the Netherlands - the "old lady" meets PSV (whom they defeated 3:1 in the league stage in Turin), and the "rossoni" play against Feyenoord, from whom they are currently trying to "kidnap" a striker because they are in negotiations with Santiago Jimenez.
What comes next is equally important, because the two Italian giants in the quarterfinals may have to wait for a third - a possible rival in the next round of the knockout phase is Inter, as well as Arsenal.
Brest and Paris Saint-Germain will face off in the French derby in the playoffs, Borussia will travel to Lisbon to face Sporting, and Atalanta will face a two-legged tie against Club Brugge.
Playoff pairings:
Brest - PSG
Club Brugge - Atalanta
Manchester City - Real Madrid
Juventus - PSV
Monaco - Benfica
Sporting Lisbon - Borussia Dortmund
Celtic - Bayern Munich
Fejnord - Milan
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