A look back at previous Man City vs Real Madrid Champions League clashes
The draw for the quarter-finals of the 2024 Champions League has taken place, and it has thrown up another clash between 14-time winners Real Madrid and defending champions Manchester City.
The dates for our #UCL quarter-final matches against Real Madrid have been confirmed 🙌
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 15, 2024
📆 Tuesday 9 April
⏰ 20:00 (UK)
đź“ŤSantiago Bernabeu
📆 Wednesday 17 April
⏰ 20:00 (UK)
đź“Ť Etihad Stadium
This will be the fifth time the two have clashed over two legs. The score currently stands at 2-2, with City favored to take the head-to-head lead by coming out on top in this season’s clash.
What do the bookmakers say?
Manchester City is in the harder-looking half of the draw. But that hasn’t stopped the bookmakers from favoring them to win the Champions League title. And it’s not just in Europe the bookmakers are favoring City, as Pep’s team is the betting favorite to win all three competitions they are still active in.
Domestically, the bookmakers favor City in the latest odds on the Premier League winner. Pep’s team are +120 to win the title, with Liverpool their closest rivals at +200. In the English FA Cup, City are +125 favorites, and in the Champions League, they are +187.
Now let’s take a look at what happened when City and Real Madrid clashed in the past.
Real Madrid win close semi-final
Pre Pep Guardiola, the two met in the 2015/16 semi-final. Back then, City was just starting to compete in Europe, while Real Madrid was the top dog across the continent. Madrid went through on this occasion, drawing the 1st leg 0-0 at the Etihad, and then winning the 2nd leg and the tie 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
City do the double
The teams next met in the Round of 16 in the 2019/20 season. On this occasion, City won both legs 2-1 to take the tie 4-2 on aggregate. The Blues would go on to be knocked out by Lyon in the quarter-final.
Madrid win a classic
In the 2020/21 season, they had a year off before resuming hostilities in 2021/22. By this time, City was regarded as the top side in Europe and was the favorite to lift the trophy. But in a topsy-turvy semi-final, City couldn’t shake Madrid off.
In the first leg, City won 4-3 at the Etihad. They were then 1-0 up in the second leg and coasting to the final with the aggregate score of 5-3 in favor of Pep’s team. Madrid then staged an extraordinary comeback, scoring twice in less than two minutes of stoppage time to take the match into extra-time.
Karim Benzema slotted home a penalty in extra-time to make it 3-1 to Madrid on the night, and after having almost two feet in the final, City were somehow out.
No mistakes this time from City
Revenge was sweet 12 months later, again at the semi-final stage. This time when Manchester City got on top, they delivered the knockout blow.
In a cagey 1st leg in Madrid, the match finished 1-1. In the 2nd leg, City destroyed Madrid, thrashing them 4-0 at the Etihad, before going on to win the competition.
Manchester City = Champions League winners 🏆
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 10, 2023
Mission complete for Pep Guardiola âś… pic.twitter.com/ZEGnK6c559
Is another classic in store?
The current Real Madrid team looks stronger than the one City thrashed last season. That’s not to say they are good enough to beat City, but they certainly stand a better chance.
But no matter who wins next month, if the matchup between the two is anything like some of their recent clashes, it promises to be a classic.
Passionate Writer, Blogger and Amazon Affiliate Expert since 2014.
