Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid (R) and Phil Foden of Manchester City in action during a 2025 Champions League match.
Photo: AFP
Manchester City and Real Madrid will renew their familiar rivalry after being drawn together in the Champions League knockout phase for the sixth time since 2019-20 following Saturday’s draw for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals.
The two heavyweights have already crossed swords once this campaign, with City mounting a comeback to beat record 15-times European champions Real 2-1 in December’s league-phase match.
It also marks the first time in Champions League history that two teams will play each other in the knockout stages in five consecutive seasons.
“For our club, as much as you play against the best teams in the whole history of this competition, you learn and improve, and you are better in the future,” City boss Pep Guardiola told reporters.
Holders Paris St Germain will face Chelsea in a repeat of last year’s ill-tempered Club World Cup final, in which the Premier League side came out on top.
“So excited. PSG are a fantastic team. I have experience of playing against them in France. They’re a team I’ve always admired,” said Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, who previously managed Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Arsenal’s Spanish defender Martin Zubimendi celebrates.
Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
Arsenal play Bayer Leverkusen, and the Premier League leaders have avoided the tournament’s heavyweights after their perfect record of eight wins put them top of the standings in the league phase.
Should they qualify for the quarter-finals, Arsenal will play either Sporting or Bodo/Glimt, while Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea — who have won the last 10 editions of the competition — are on the other side of the draw.
“We are very excited to play the next round. We have earned the right to be in a strong position with what we’ve done in the group stage,” Arteta said.
Bayern Munich, who were second in the league phase, play Atalanta, who knocked out German side Borussia Dortmund in the playoffs thanks to a stoppage-time penalty, with a quarter-final against Real or City to follow.
Newcastle United face Barcelona again after the Spanish side won their league-phase opener, and Liverpool were paired with Galatasaray.
“Newcastle have a fantastic team, we saw that in the last game when we played there. It’s not easy,” Barca coach Hansi Flick said.
Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur face Atletico Madrid while Norwegian upstarts Bodo/Glimt — who have beaten City, Atletico and Inter Milan this season — take on Portugal’s Sporting.
Last 16 draw
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Bodo/Glimt v Sporting
Paris St Germain v Chelsea
Newcastle United v Barcelona
Galatasaray v Liverpool
Atletico Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Atalanta v Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
Quarter-finals
QF1: PSG/Chelsea v Galatasaray/Liverpool
QF2: Real Madrid/Man City v Atalanta/Bayern
QF3: Newcastle/Barcelona v Atletico/Tottenham
QF4: Bodo/Sporting v Leverkusen/Arsenal
Semi-finals
Semi-final 1: QF1 winners v QF2 winners
Semi-final 2: QF3 winners v QF4 winners
First and second leg dates
Last 16: 10-11 March and 17-18 March
Quarter-finals: 7-8 April and 14-15 April
Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May
Final: 30 May in Budapest’s Puskas Arena
– Reuters