With Monday’s draw for the Champions League Round of 16 being announced, Manchester City’s nightmare scenario was realized—a date with 13-time winners Real Madrid.
Manchester City had very few scenarios for a favorable draw in the last 16 of the Champions League. As group winners, they had the ability to face any of Atlético Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, and Real Madrid.
Of those possibilities, City were given the most difficult draw available in the form of Los Blancos, creating a rematch of the 2016 Champions League semi-final, the furthest City have ever reached in the competition.
The Blues will head to the famed Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on February 26th for the first leg before returning to Manchester on March 17th for the second leg at the Etihad. Given how late in the season both fixtures are, City will almost surely be aided by the return of Aymeric Laporte and possibly Leroy Sané.
Real Madrid currently sit level atop La Liga with eternal rivals Barcelona on 35 points after 16 games. There have been ebbs and flows in the second spell under manager Zinedine Zidane, but the Frenchman’s track record in the Champions League is undeniable.
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City’s season will be defined by their success or failure in this competition, and perhaps there is a silver lining in starting with such a difficult test. In recent years, City have been handed a favorable draw against the likes of FC Basel and Schalke, both of which they dominated before swift quarterfinal exits against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Eventual winners Liverpool faced an early test in the Round of 16 a year ago, knocking out German champions Bayern Munich. Perhaps this year, starting with a true test is just the measuring stick this team needs to click into gear and win this competition.
Injuries may have seriously hampered City’s Premier League hopes in the first half of the season, but the Champions League, the only major honor the club has yet to win, remains in contention. Without a strenuous domestic pace to worry about, this will be City’s best chance to win Europe’s elite club competition under Pep Guardiola.