Manchester City and Real Madrid will renew their well-known rivalry after the Champions League knockout stage draw brought them together once again - for the sixth time since the 2019/20 season.
The two European giants have already faced off this season, when City overcame the 15-time European champions (2-1) in a December league match in Madrid.
This is also the first time in the history of the Champions League that two teams have met in the knockout stages for five seasons in a row - and indeed, no other pairing in modern history has repeated itself as many times as Manchester City - Real.
GVARDIOLA: LET'S LEARN FROM THE BEST AGAIN
And the "million dollar" question - who is the favorite?
"For our club, every time we meet against the best teams in the history of this competition, it's a chance to learn, improve and become better in the future," Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola diplomatically commented on the draw.
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will play against Chelsea in a rematch of last year's Club World Cup final, in which the London team won surprisingly, and convincingly - 3-0.
"I'm very excited. Paris Saint-Germain are a fantastic team. I have experience playing against them in France. It's a team I've always admired," said Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior.
"No, we don't see this as a chance for a rematch. They are two different competitions - we will enjoy a two-legged tie against one of the best teams in the Premier League," said Luis Enrique, PSG coach.
ARSENAL AVOIDED THE GIANTS - REACHED THE SEMI-FINALS
Of the favorites for the title, Arsenal fared best, and will play against Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16, and if they advance - against the winner of the Sporting Bode-Glimt duel.
Only in the semi-finals could the Gunners meet one of the giants, which would be Barcelona/Newcastle or Atletico Madrid/Tottenham.
On the other side of the skeleton are the teams that have won the last 10 Champions Leagues: Real, City, PSG and Chelsea, but also Bayern, who play Nikola Krstović's Atalanta, and Liverpool, who meet Galatasaray in the round of 16.
"We deserved to be in a strong position with what we did in the group stage," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Newcastle will play Barcelona again, after the Spanish team won in the league stage.
"Newcastle have a fantastic team, we saw that in the last match when we played there. It's not easy," said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.
So, we know who will face whom - all the way to the final in Budapest on May 30th, and some of the possible quarter-final pairings are: Real/City - Bayern, PSG - Liverpool, Barcelona - Atletico. If all the favorites advance, PSG - Bayern and Barcelona - Arsenal will play in the semi-finals.
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Manchester City and Real Madrid have met in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second consecutive season, a record. Real won in the semi-finals in 2022, City got their revenge in the same round in 2023, then Real won on penalties in the quarter-finals in 2024, and in 2025, Madrid advanced to the round of 16. So, 3:1 for Real
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