The 10 years Pep Guardiola spent at Manchester City represent one of the greatest acts of dynasty-building in the sporting universe.

Not only did the Catalan coach City to six Premier League titles, five League Cups, three FA Cups, one UEFA Champions League crown and one at the FIFA Club World Cup, he did so by assembling multiple great sides, revolutionising tactics, and constantly reinventing himself.

Dominant reign

Guardiola’s six Premier League trophies are second only to Alex Ferguson’s 13 at Manchester United, and even in the four years when City did not win the top prize, it stayed in the top three. No other coach won more than one Premier League title during Guardiola’s time in England.

When such a king abdicates the throne and leaves his kingdom, as Guardiola did at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, there is bound to be an almighty jostle among those below to be the immediate heir. The 2026-27 Premier League season, which got underway late on Friday (August 21), will be the battleground to decide whom the power is transferred to.

The setting is conducive for an intriguing competition. City without Guardiola will be one of nine clubs to have new coaches, and two others in Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur did not have Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi in place at the start of the year.

Mikel Arteta, who secured Arsenal its first English top-flight crown in 22 years, is the most experienced, having been in the job for a little over six years and seven months. Unai Emery, who masterminded Aston Villa’s 2025-26 Europa League triumph, is next, with a stint now at roughly three years and 10 months.

Though Guardiola has exited the scene, his giant shadow still looms. Enzo Maresca, who has replaced the 55-year-old at the Etihad, and Arteta have served as his assistants. Xabi Alonso, installed as Chelsea’s new manager, was once Guardiola’s midfield marshal at Bayern Munich.

The post-Pep Premier League era will not have a clean break in terms of tactics too, for Guardiola has left a deep imprint, both in terms of the first principles he introduced, and how he evolved and shed his orthodoxies to cater to the League’s fast-changing demands.

When he first arrived, Guardiola was a cleric of the possession-heavy school and was canonical in his belief that retaining the ball was the best route to success. So much so that even goalkeepers weren’t spared; one of his first decisions at City was to replace Joe Hart, a top-class shot-stopper, with Claudio Bravo, a ball-playing goalie.

And it felt like the league as a whole — with the glorious exception of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United — was trying to inculcate parts of it.

Guardiola then changed tack to embrace high-energy players and those with great individual skills in order to adjust to the breathless, end-to-end football that the likes of Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham) introduced. The controlled aggression of the earlier years made way for a more expressive and expansive style.

Philosophical blasphemy

And in his last four seasons in charge, he played with one of world football’s purest strikers in Erling Haaland. For a man who once made Lionel Messi turn out as a False 9, and then won two Premier League trophies in 2020-21 and 2021-22 with midfielders as top-scorers (Ilkay Gundogan with 13 goals and Kevin de Bruyne 15), to have Haaland score 112 times over four campaigns would have been akin to philosophical blasphemy.

However, football is now more direct and physical than in recent times and it is to Guardiola’s credit that he tweaked his methods and put in place a blueprint for success. “You need to adapt, evolve,” City’s Maresca said recently. “Set-pieces, man to man — it’s a little bit the direction where football is going. We managers… it’s our duty to find solutions.”

Who among Arteta, Carrick, Alonso, Andoni Iraola and Maresca will answer the call? For one, the sight of Arteta, Carrick and Alonso walking briskly up and down the touchline is sure to remind fans of their glory days as players for Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool not so long ago. For a certain generation, it will appear like they are reliving a childhood dream.

Arteta has the first-mover advantage, having already won the League and possessing a winning combination. The addition of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle for GBP 75 million will reduce the inordinate burden on midfielder Declan Rice. But Arsenal’s unsuccessful pursuit of Vinicius Junior suggests that the outfit is mindful of the need of a world-class threat upfront.

Carrick, who took over at Old Trafford after the sacking of Ruben Amorim, had an impressive stint as caretaker manager, winning 12 and drawing three of his 17 matches in 2025-26, and helping United qualify for the Champions League after a two-season hiatus. The question before the astute 45-year-old is whether his United has the quality to sustain simultaneous domestic and continental challenges.

For Alonso, Chelsea is the opportunity to light up an aura that has seemingly dimmed after a failed seven-month stint as Real Madrid’s boss. The 44-year-old is known to possess a shrewd tactical brain, and his role in ending Bayern Munich’s hegemony in Germany — 11 straight Bundesliga titles from 2012-13 to 2022-23 — by leading a young Bayer Leverkusen side to its maiden crown is noteworthy. The addition of 24-year-old English attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers for a whopping GBP 117 million shows that he has Chelsea’s wholehearted trust.

Andoni Iraola’s ascent to the top job at Liverpool after making a mark at Bournemouth is eerily similar to Graham Potter’s entry into Chelsea in 2022 after a stellar show at Brighton & Hove Albion. But Potter was dismissed in less than seven months, a fate Iraola will want to avoid.

The 44-year-old is agnostic to any style of play that is not front-footed, a factor that endeared him to the Liverpool hierarchy after a dreary end to Arne Slot’s time. Can he manage to keep the club faithful happy without the services of Mohamed Salah, who left after nine glorious years?

Tough act to follow

Maresca’s situation at City is comparable to what David Moyes faced at United after the latter succeeded Ferguson in 2013. The Italian’s first test will be to not get crushed under the burden of expectations after Guardiola’s supremely successful tenure. It helps that City is not known to be trigger-happy, for both Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini enjoyed tenures lasting three years or more before Guardiola arrived.

Maresca also comes with a certain pedigree, having led Chelsea to FIFA Club World Cup glory in 2025, and has added England midfielder Elliot Anderson for a hefty GBP 116 million fee. But he will have to compete without the talismanic World Cup winner Rodri, who has shifted to Barcelona, and fellow playmaker Bernardo Silva, who has moved to Real Madrid.

Will he be guided by the spirit of Guardiola or will the ghost of Guardiola haunt him?

After presiding over PSG’s successful Champions League title defence, Luis Enrique put his name up in lights in the hall of fame for football’s greatest-ever managers.

Having previously guided Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2014-15, the Spaniard secured his third European Cup triumph as a coach. He joined an elite group of managers with three or more European Cup titles, alongside Carlo Ancelotti, who won a record five, and Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola, who have each lifted the trophy three times.

Getting one over Guardiola

By going back to back, Enrique achieved what even his good friend Guardiola — who has a case for being considered the greatest ever — could not. And he did it in some style, with his PSG team being feted for its silky interplay and bewildering movement.

Enrique’s insistence on high-intensity, high-pressure football with electrifying forwards who dribble through defences has created a rare blend — arguably even improving on Guardiola’s iconic Barcelona side which won the Champions League twice. He has expanded on the possession-based ideas of Spain’s best teams, adding risk-taking and transitional threat.

Enrique’s PSG plays structured positional football, typically a 3-1-6 in possession. But there is fluidity within this formation — it’s not the same players in the same positions at all times. The side can pull apart most defences with its clever positional interchanges.

While PSG couldn’t break Arsenal down in the final, which went to penalties, it still created several headaches for the English champion, which Enrique said was the best team in the world out of possession. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after the game that his plan wasn’t to have just 25% of the ball, but PSG’s dominance had precipitated the situation.

“It’s not a plan to play in certain scenarios when you don’t have the ball but they force you to do that,” Arteta, who admitted to being inspired by Enrique and PSG, said. “What they are able to do with the ball, individual actions, I haven’t seen it [before]. And so even more praise to them.”

In many ways Enrique is the defining figure of this PSG project, after the megastars, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, departed. As Arteta said, “His fingerprints are all over this team.” Enrique arrived in Paris in 2023 promising a cultural shift rather than instant glamour. The Spaniard wanted a team in which collective sacrifice outweighed individual status, where the biggest names defended, pressed and suffered together. It’s fair to say he has succeeded.

After Mbappe left in 2024, Lucho, as he is nicknamed, said his team would become even stronger. “Having a player who moved wherever he wanted meant there were parts of the game I couldn’t control… next year, I’ll control everything. Everything,” he said. And he did.

The club still invested heavily in players, but players tailored to their manager’s plans, willing to run endlessly for the collective, and keep egos in check. “I arrived at the club thinking, ‘My objective is to make history,’ and we have indeed made history,” Enrique said. “We want to keep writing the story because we believe there’s still more there for us to achieve.”

Trophy-winning dynasty

Enrique has won 12 trophies, including three Ligue 1 titles, during his time at PSG. It is clear, from inside and outside, the effect the Asturian has had on a club built in his image, capable of creating a modern football dynasty. But while there is no doubt about Enrique’s quality, the question of his legacy, specifically the PSG chapter, is less straightforward.

The French team, built with Qatari riches, continues to face questions about ‘sportswashing’, which global campaigning network Greenpeace defines as “the act of sponsoring a sports team or event in order to distract from bad practices elsewhere. This tactic is often used by companies and governments with poor environmental or human rights records, exploiting people’s love of sports to ‘wash’ their image clean”.

Qatar Sports Investments acquired a controlling stake in PSG in 2011, just under a year after Qatar was named host for the 2022 World Cup. Critics saw both moves as a means to “mute criticism of an autocratic regime”, to take attention away from its “appalling treatment of migrant workers”, “suppression of human rights”, and “imprisonment of whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais”.

Critics also cite the financial imbalance enjoyed by state-owned teams such as PSG, Manchester City and Newcastle, arguing that it undermines fair competition. They point to the influence of PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi, the chairman of both European Football Clubs (EFC) and broadcasting company beIN, on the administration of European club football. This, they say, is the “the deeper effect of state money”.

The questions and criticism have reduced with PSG’s success on the biggest stage — critics contend that this is precisely the point of ‘sportswashing’.

Enrique’s tenure at PSG — much like Guardiola’s at City, which was marked by incredible trophy success but marred by 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations — will be accompanied by a knotty question: Can legacy be separated from the context of the circumstances in which it is built?

Fans of Enrique will hope that the answer doesn’t define him entirely. The 56-year-old has enriched the game with his progressive ideas of play, extending the limits of modern tactical thinking. While mastering his craft, he has endured a great personal tragedy and borne the loss of his young daughter with resilience and grace. Some will also highlight the fact that other managers have enjoyed Enrique’s resources at PSG but failed to produce the results he has.

Target three-peat

For his part, Enrique isn’t overly concerned about his legacy, at least publicly. After the final, he said he was “not interested” in whether he was becoming a legend or not. His next target is the Champions League three-peat. “The first one was incredible, but more than anything we had that desire to get the second,” he told broadcaster M6. “I love this club so much, and it’s not over! We’ve got the second, we’ll keep working and go get the third.”

Record 15-time winner Real Madrid won the Champions League three times (2016-2018). Before that, the last teams to complete a hat-trick were Bayern Munich and Ajax in the 1970s. Real also won it five years running, back at the competition’s inception. “We can talk about the back-to-back-to-back,” said Enrique. “We can talk about these types of objectives, our club is worthy of it, as are our supporters. We do need new players to refresh certain positions, but we’ve been champions of Europe for two years… piano piano [slowly, slowly].”

Having scaled the summits of Spanish and European football with FC Barcelona and imposed his will upon Germany with Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016 carrying an almost mythological reputation. His credentials were beyond dispute. Yet in England, one question followed him everywhere: Could Guardiola do it on a cold, windy Tuesday night in Stoke?

It was the same challenge English football had thrown at every perceived outsider, every revolutionary coach or manager, who dared suggest there was another way to play the game.

Whatever Guardiola achieved elsewhere seemingly counted for little until he proved himself in football’s self-proclaimed toughest hunting ground.

By December, the doubters smelt blood. Defending champion Leicester City, drifting uncomfortably close to the relegation zone, tore through Manchester City and triumphed 4-2. To Guardiola’s critics, it felt like vindication. Possession football, intricate passing, inverted full-backs and positional play — perhaps these ideas were too delicate for the relentless chaos of English football.

If the defeat poured fuel on the fire of criticism, it also ignited something within Guardiola himself, who commendably doubled down. To say that a decade later, the debate is settled would be an understatement. A silverware haul that resembles a monument bears testimony. Six Premier League titles. Five League Cups. Three FA Cups. A Champions League crown. Add to that a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup. As he prepares to move on, Guardiola’s reign will be defined by his ability to bend opponents to his will through control. As Frank Sinatra once sang, he faced it all, stood tall, and did it his way.

When he walked into La Masia, Barcelona’s famed academy, as a 13-year-old, Guardiola stood apart almost immediately. Where others saw congestion, he saw space. He could anticipate patterns before they emerged, his clarity often bordering on obsession.

Under Johan Cruyff, that rare footballing intelligence found its perfect home. As the cerebral heartbeat of Barcelona’s Dream Team, Guardiola dictated tempo and direction with the composure of a conductor leading a symphony. He finished with a decorated resume, including four consecutive La Liga titles and Barcelona’s first European Cup.

Bigger debt

But it is to Guardiola, the manager, that history owes a bigger debt. When he first stepped into the bullring, the scepticism was immediate. Too young. Too idealistic to lead Barcelona back to dominance. A maiden treble — La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League — was quite the answer. The foundations of what we now know to be a new order were being laid.

Barcelona’s football was not only effective but expressive, a demonstration of what collective intelligence could look like when fully realised. The fruit? Fourteen trophies in four years and the evolution of a certain Lionel Messi from prodigy to phenomenon.

And then, Guardiola left, looking for a new challenge. After a year’s break, he took over Bayern Munich, which was fresh from a treble under Jupp Heynckes.

After winning seven trophies in three years, another departure followed, and this time, the Premier League waited. Impatiently, and perhaps uneasily. The rest, as they say, is history. Twenty major trophies followed, including the elusive Champions League — three more than the club had won in its 136 years before his arrival.

Beyond the pitch, Guardiola was unapologetically political, speaking about Catalonia’s right to self-determination, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the suffering in Gaza caused by Israeli attacks, and humanitarian crises in Sudan, often framing them in moral rather than political terms.

At the same time, his guarded responses on issues involving the UAE, whose ruling family owns Manchester City, fuelled accusations of inconsistency. It is within that space, between expression and restraint, that Guardiola’s wider reputation has taken shape. Taken together, it leaves a figure who resists simple classification. A coach who reshaped how the game is played, while also navigating, imperfectly at times, the responsibilities that come with visibility.

Published – May 31, 2026 01:00 am IST

Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola.
| Photo Credit: AP

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola was deliberately underestimating the English side’s hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16. European champions Madrid hold a 3-2 lead on City, who have struggled this season and are fourth in the Premier League, ahead of the play-off round second leg on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu. After thrashing Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday, Guardiola said English champions City have only a one percent chance of ousting the record 15-time European Cup winners.

“He does not truly think that, tomorrow I’ll ask him before the game — do you really think you’ve got a one percent chance?” Ancelotti told a news conference.

“He really thinks they’ve got more chance than that… we don’t think we have 99 percent chance.

“We think we have a small advantage that we have to take advantage of, and try to play the same game we set up in the first leg, which went well.”

Guardiola later admitted he also gave his team a bigger chance of progressing than he previously said.

“This time I lied to you,” said Guardiola.

“I always say what I think and you never believe me, but this time you are right…

“(After the first leg) nobody would have bet on us, the one percent was there, the truth is that the days pass, you get more excited, it’s not the best result for us to have taken but we will try to go through, for sure.”

Ancelotti confirmed defender Antonio Rudiger was fit to start for the holders after injury but Lucas Vazquez would only be ready for the bench.

City attackers Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish were able to train ahead of the game after injury issues and Guardiola said it was “good news” they had been able to travel to the Spanish capital.

Leave refs ‘in peace’

Ancelotti reiterated his frustration with Spanish refereeing, following some controversial decisions which went against his side in recent La Liga matches.

The Italian said he was more comfortable with refereeing in the Champions League.

“Statistics speak for themselves, in Europe there’s less controversy in this sense, there are less VAR interventions,” said Ancelotti.

“The VAR only intervenes when it’s necessary, and usually the Champions League features the best referees from each country, so the quality is very high in this sense.”

England international Jude Bellingham was sent off for dissent during Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday in La Liga.

Bellingham’s team-mate Federico Valverde said he did not want the midfielder to change his ways.

“What I want is players who leave their soul out on the pitch, in this case with Jude in the last game, I always want him to be like that,” Valverde told reporters.

“Jude is a player who shows character, who always wants to win, who always wants to fight.

“This time he got a red card, but I like that he’s giving everything, his spikiness… we have to stay united as a team.”

The referee who dismissed Bellingham, Jose Munuera Montero, has been subject to online abuse in recent days and according to Spanish reports is being investigated over an alleged conflict of interest with links to a sports consultancy agency.

Guardiola gave his opinion on Bellingham’s dismissal.

“The problem is not the translation, it’s the intention? You have to ask Jude what intention he had… you can insult someone with a big smile and it can be nice,” said the coach.

“Have you seen they are investigating the referee now… wow, leave them in peace.

“That’s the best thing that we can do, leave them in peace.”

Guardiola, who led City to their first Champions League triumph in 2023 said his team needed to play an almost “perfect” game to progress.

“You have to make an almost perfect game, obviously the (first leg) result is not good,” added Guardiola.

“(A) bad result is not the perfect situation, we have to attack, we have to score goals. This is the idea.”

Manchester City vs Real Madrid LIVE Streaming, UEFA Champions League: For the fourth year in a row, Real Madrid will be taking on Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, with the first leg taking place at the home of the Premier League champions. Unlike the previous years, this season sees the clash take place at the pre-Round of 16 stage, with both sides having finished outside the Top 8 of the Champions League group. Real Madrid finished 11th while City finished 22nd. Los Blancos enter the game after a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, while City beat Leyton Orient 2-1 in the FA Cup. Real Madrid have won in two of the clashes in the last three years against City.

Manchester City vs Real Madrid LIVE Streaming UEFA Champions League 2024-25 LIVE Telecast: Check Where and How to Watch?

When will the Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match take place?

The Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match will take place on Wednesday, February 12 (IST).

Where will the Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match be held?

The Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match will be held at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

What time will the Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match start?

The Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match will start at 1:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match?

The Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match will be televised live on the Sony Sports network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match?

The Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Champions League match will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website.

(All details are as per information shared by the broadcaster)

Arsenal kept alive their Premier League title challenge with a 5-1 demolition of dismal Manchester City on Sunday as the troubled champions endured another humiliation in their season from hell. Mikel Arteta‘s side had no margin for error in the title race after leaders Liverpool won 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday to move nine points clear of the Gunners. They rose to the occasion with a blistering performance inspired by Martin Odegaard‘s opener after 103 seconds at the Emirates Stadium. Erling Haaland hauled City level soon after half-time with his 25th goal in all competitions this season.

But the careless mistakes that have hampered City throughout a dismal campaign proved decisive when Thomas Partey capitalised on Phil Foden‘s poor pass to restore Arsenal’s lead.

Myles Lewis-Skelly’s first Arsenal goal and late strikes from Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri put the seal on a masterful display as the Gunners closed within six points of Liverpool.

Liverpool’s game in hand keeps them firmly in control of the title race, but Arsenal’s vibrant performance extended their unbeaten run to 14 games and underlined their desire to push the Reds to the finish line.

City have now failed to win any of their last four league meetings with Arsenal as their six-game undefeated run in the top-flight came to a brutal end.

With a fifth successive title long erased from City’s ambitions after their wretched season, Pep Guardiola’s fourth placed side are focused on qualifying for the Champions League.

But even that could be beyond them — let alone getting past Real Madrid in this season’s play-off round — unless Guardiola can fix the gaping holes in his defence and the lack of energy in midfield.

Guardiola had opted to bring in John Stones for former Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who endured an error-strewn debut against Chelsea last weekend.

But Stones was involved in the calamitous defending that gifted Arsenal the lead in the second minute.

It was Stones’ pass to the marked Manuel Akanji that put his fellow defender in a difficult situation.

Akanji was immediately robbed by Leandro Trossard before Kai Havertz picked out Odegaard and the Arsenal captain slotted home from 10 yards with City’s defence in disarray.

Shell-shocked City

Already fearing the worst, Guardiola stomped back to the bench with a thunderous expression.

City controlled possession but were toothless for long periods, prompting all manner of agitated gestures from the exasperated Guardiola.

Haaland angered Arsenal after telling Arteta to “stay humble” and throwing the ball at Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes during the stormy 2-2 draw earlier this season.

So inevitably, it was Haaland who grabbed City’s 55th minute equaliser.

Savinho’s perfectly weighted cross gave Haaland the chance to get in front of William Saliba and bury his close-range header.

But Arsenal took just two minutes to wipe from smile from Haaland’s face.

Foden’s pass was picked off by Partey and the Ghana midfielder unleashed a powerful long-range drive that went in via a wicked deflection off Stones.

Arsenal scented blood and Lewis-Skelly went for the kill in the 62nd minute.

Cutting inside the City area, the 18-year-old left-back showed poised that belied his lack of experience as he curled a fine finish into the far corner.

In a cheeky jibe at Haaland, Lewis-Skelly marked the goal by sitting down with his legs crossed to mimic the City star’s meditative celebration.

There was more misery for shell-shocked City as the much-maligned Havertz got on the scoresheet in the 76th minute.

Gabriel Martinelli swaggered through City’s leaky defence and teed up Havertz for a clinical finish from 10 yards.

Deep into stoppage-time, teenage forward Nwaneri delivered the final blow, whipping a superb finish into the far corner from an acute angle.

Arsenal fans taunted Guardiola with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and, not for the first time in a chastening afternoon, City had no response.

Reigning champions Real Madrid will face 2023 winners Manchester City in the plum tie of the play-off round of this season’s Champions League, following Friday’s draw. It is the fourth year running in which the sides have been drawn against each other in a knockout tie, with Real emerging victorious in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals last season. City, who scraped through after finishing 22nd in the league phase in this first season of the new format for Europe’s elite club competition, knew they faced a tough draw with Bayern Munich their other possible opponents.

Pep Guardiola’s team will be at home in the first leg before going to Spain for the return.

“It feels like a derby already,” Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday.

“Four years in a row facing Real Madrid. But Bayern or Madrid — both was really tough. Hopefully we can arrive in the first leg here, and then at Madrid, as best as possible.”

Real won a dramatic semi-final tie on the way to lifting the trophy in 2022, but City gained revenge at the same stage in 2023 as they went on to become champions.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side then came out on top last season, while Real won a semi-final tie between the sides in 2016 and City won in the last 16 in 2020.

“We know each other very well,” said Emilio Butragueno, Real’s director of institutional relations, to Spanish media.

“They are a really great team who have the experience and are used to these types of games, so they will be very difficult opponents.

“But this competition is very special for us and we will play the second leg at home, at the Bernabeu.”

Elsewhere, Celtic will face six-time European champions Bayern, after the Scottish champions reached the knockout stage for the first time in 12 years.

All-French tie

Paris Saint-Germain will play surprise package Brest in an all-French tie, while Juventus play PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord take on AC Milan in two ties between former winners of the competition.

Last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta, who finished one place outside the top eight which offered a direct path to the last 16, will face Club Brugge of Belgium.

Sporting of Portugal were drawn against last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, while Monaco will take on Benfica having lost at home to the Portuguese club in the league phase. 

The play-off ties will take place next month, with the eight winners going through to the last 16 along with the eight highest-placed sides from the league phase.

Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa are the sides already through to the last 16.

Those teams finished in the top eight in the standings in the 36-team league phase — the first season of the new format for the competition saw all competing clubs placed together in one giant pool, each playing eight games against eight different opponents.

The draw for the remainder of the competition is partly pre-determined, meaning that whoever emerges triumphant in the tie between City and Real knows they will play either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16.

The draw for the last 16 onwards will take place on February 21, and it remains to be seen if Liverpool derive any advantage from having come first in the league phase.

Arne Slot’s team will play either PSG or Brest, or Monaco or Benfica, in the last 16 in March. 

This season’s Champions League final will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday, May 31.

Pep Guardiola said he cannot see Manchester City winning the Champions League on current form, but believes his side will be better when they face the might of either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich next month. City needed a second-half fightback from 1-0 down to beat Club Brugge 3-1 on Wednesday to avoid crashing out before the knockout stages for the first time since 2012. Their reward could be just a stay of execution against either the defending champions or Guardiola’s former club Bayern.

City have also been a diminished force in the Premier League this season, where they sit fourth — 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.

But Guardiola is hopeful they will be strengthened by the return of key players from injury and new signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the coming weeks.

“Right now no. I’m so realistic,” said Guardiola when asked if the 2023 champions could win the competition again.

“Madrid is back in terms of results, Bayern played an incredible season so far with (coach) Vinny (Kompany). If we have to play tomorrow it will be difficult but in two weeks we don’t know.

“We are going to prepare well, be fit and try it and see what happens.”

Despite their struggles, City have won six and drawn one of their last eight games.

“At least lately we are getting results,” added Guardiola. “We are fourth in Premier League, not in the title race, no way, but still we are there.

“FA Cup we are there. Sometimes it is impossible today but tomorrow the mindset, the vibes change and I’m pretty sure we will try and create problems for Madrid or Bayern.”

City’s narrow escape played a central role on a dramatic final night for the first season of the Champions League’s new Swiss model format.

Guardiola said he could appreciate the change has made the early stages of the competition more appealing to fans, even if it caused him far more tension.

And he believes other big clubs will face similar struggles in the future.

“As a spectator how many things (were still to be decided) is nice. The problem is we play more games in October, November, December and in the future important teams will live what we lived this season.

“We were on the verge, 45 minutes from being out. It is an incredible lesson for me, the club that nothing is (taken) for granted.

“Congratulate the team because still they have pride and we’ll see how we arrive in two weeks.”