Manchester City and Real Madrid meeting in the Champions League has become synonymous with the competition. While both always have ambitions of winning the entire thing, these two teams have already met 12 times in Champions League play with five of those meetings coming in the knockout stage. For the past three seasons, they’ve met in the quarterfinals or semifinals, but this knockout stage playoff between the duo will be the first time that they’ve met before the round of 16 since the 2012-13 season when they were drawn into the same group for group stage play.
Due to each meeting between these sides having high stakes, this has become quite a rivalry at the top of the global game. Even off the pitch, things have bubbled with Real Madrid boycotting the Ballon d’Or ceremony where Manchester City midfielder Rodri won instead of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior. Rodri even spoke out about how he ‘cannot respect’ Real Madrid boycotting the awards. That’s not to mention the history Real Madrid have with Pep Guardiola, who coached their rivals Barcelona from 2008-2012.
While Rodri will miss the match with his ACL injury, that doesn’t mean that the Ballon d’Or won’t be looming in the background as these two sides look to advance to the round of 16. Before that though, let’s take a look back at some of their previous clashes in the knockout stages, starting with the most recent.
How to watch and odds
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 11 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Etihad Stadium — Manchester, England
Live stream: Paramount+
Odds: Man City +130; Draw +275: Real Madrid +185
2023-24: Real Madrid advance on penalties
For the third consecutive season, the winner of this match would go on to lift the Champions League title which shows how much pressure is on the line when these two teams meet in European competition. City went into the half of the first leg trailing by a goal thanks to a Ruben Dias own goal but they’d turn things around quickly with goals from Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden. Fede Valverde brought things back level before the return to Manchester for the second leg where Rodrygo and De Bruyne canceled each other’s goals out before going to a shootout. Real Madrid backup keeper Andiry Lunin would save two penalties in that shootout and it was just enough to send Real Madrid through before they captured their 15th UCL title in their history.
2022-23: Manchester City dominate
Finally, a turning point for Manchester City as they got over the hump in 2022-23. It was a close first leg in Madrid ending 1-1 but when things went to Manchester, it would be a party at the Etihad. A first-half brace paced Manchester City, and from there they could play the match on their terms winning the possession battle and also scoring two more goals in the second period of play despite Carlo Ancelotti looking to make changes to spark his attack into a comeback. This was against the first-choice Real Madrid XI at the time as well and a moment where City would announce themselves as one of the best teams in the world amid a dominant season. This run would also end with Guardiola capturing his first Champions League title as manager of Manchester City, which was also the club’s first.
2021-22: A dominant Real Madrid comeback
We’re now reaching the beginning of the annual meetings between these sides and this was one for the ages in the semifinals. City won a back-and-forth first leg with goals from four different scorers. A trio of them, Phil Foden, Bernardo SIlva and De Bruyne will be expected to play a large role in this clash but the second leg was the Rodrygo show. For 90 minutes, it seemed like Manchester City would be the side heading to the next round behind a goal from Riyad Mahrez giving them a two-goal cushion on aggregate. Then the Brazilian struck with goals in the 90th and 91st minutes of play. Rattled, City gave up a penalty in stoppage time and Real Madrid would advance 6-5 on aggregate en route to claiming the Champions League title that season.
2019-20: Manchester City topple Los Blancos
Under Guardiola, Manchester City turned into one of the dominant forces in world soccer but a Champions League title had eluded them. While 2019-20 wouldn’t be when they got over that hump, getting past Real Madrid in the round of 16 was critical to building a culture of success. Winning both legs with help from a Real Madrid red card, City’s dominance at the Etihad was something to behold. Despite only getting goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, they took 21 shots putting nine on target to move on in the tournament.
2015-16: All defense, no problem
Meetings between City and Real Madrid have been known for goals but that hasn’t always been the case. En route to winning the 2016 Champions League title, Real met City in te knockout stages of the tournament for the first time with only one goal to separate them in the 180 minutes played. Madrid kept things level in Manchester before Gareth Bale forced Fernando into an own goal. Plenty has changed from the teams then versus now as Modric, De Bruyne and Dani Carvajal are the only starters from that match still with their respective clubs, and the starting center back for City in that game, Vincent Kompany, is now managing Bayern Munich in their own knockout game.
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