MANCHESTER, England (AP) — It’s become a familiar sight in elite European soccer: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City.
The Champions League's most engrossing rivalry in recent years will resume in a two-legged playoff next month to reach the round of 16.
It is an unusually early meeting between these two giants — but the fourth year in a row in which they've clashed. And to underline its importance, the winner in each of the three years has gone on to win the competition. The stakes are that high.
“It looks like a derby already, four years in a row facing Madrid,” City manager Pep Guardiola said Friday. “The draw could be nicer, yes."
Champions League lifeline
Holder Madrid and 2023 champion City are only meeting now because they made such hard work of the competition's new-look format.
City went into the final round of games in the 36-team league phase needing to win just to secure the lifeline of a playoff.
Madrid finished 11th, with the top eight automatically advancing to the round of 16.
Both teams had flirted with elimination, with Madrid losing against Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool. City suffered defeats to Sporting Lisbon, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
Both recovered in time to stay alive in European club soccer's elite competition — but having been drawn against each other, are now realising the consequences of those poor runs in the league phase.
On the up
Record 15-time champion Madrid has won nine of its last 11 games and Kylian Mbappe is on fire after enduring some difficult moments following his move from PSG.
The France international has scored 12 goals in his last 13 games and alongside Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, he is part of one of the most thrilling attacks in Europe.
City has also improved in recent weeks after recovering from a midseason slump that saw it win just once in 13 games from October to December — a run that included nine losses.
The four-time defending Premier League champion is unbeaten in six in the league.
Epic battles
It would be hard to top the drama of two thrilling clashes when Madrid and City met in the semifinals of 2022.
City dominated the first leg at the Etihad, yet only took a slender 4-3 lead to the Bernabeu.
City then looked to be cruising to the final when 1-0 up in the second leg and two ahead on aggregate going into the 90th minute.
That was until a stunning comeback from Madrid, with Rodrygo scoring twice to force extra time and Karim Benzema converting a winning penalty in the 95th minute. Madrid went on to beat Liverpool in the final.
City avenged that result when they met in the semifinals again a year later. A 4-0 win at the Etihad sealed a 5-1 victory on aggregate as Guardiola's team went on to lift the trophy for the first time by beating Inter Milan in the final.
Another year, another clash of the titans and in 2024 it was Madrid that prevailed in the quarterfinals.
A 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu was followed by a 1-1 at the Etihad and a penalty shootout in which Madrid triumphed.
A 15th European Cup soon followed with Madrid beating Borussia Dortmund in the final.
This will be the seventh time the teams have met in the Champions League since 2012 and there has been little to separate them.
Madrid beat City in the semifinals in 2016, while City came out on top when they faced off in the round of 16 four years later.
They played in the old group stage in 2012. In one of those games Madrid won 3-2 at the Bernabeu thanks to two late goals from Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
What's next?
The winner will play either Atletico Madrid or German champion Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
