Manchester City has drawn against Real Madrid in the qualifying round for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
City finished 22nd in the first-ever group stage of the Champions League, just barely avoiding elimination thanks to a final-day win over Club Brugge. As a consequence of their low finish, they did not automatically qualify for the round of 16, meaning they have to get past reigning European champions Real Madrid before reaching the knockout stage.
The news of the draw didn’t go down very well with City manager Pep Guardiola.
“The schedule? It is what it is. In the Premier League everyone has to play everyone but what normally happens is we have tougher schedules for the Premier League teams in Europe. It’s tough playing against Real Madrid… the problem is in the middle playing Newcastle.”
“They are always so kind with the calendar, for many years it always happened that way.”
The number of matches played in football has been ever-increasing in recent years, drawing criticism from both managers and players alike. The new Champions League format not only increases the amount of group stage games by two but also introduces a qualifying round for the teams that finished from 9th to 24th in the table.
He went on to suggest that the intense scheduling of the Premier League gives an advantage to foreign clubs in the Premier Leauge:
“But I remember when I was at Barcelona, I followed the Premier League because it was the most attractive league in the world. Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger made the same complaints.“
“Do you think it’s going to change? The broadcasters decide. There are leagues that play on the Friday before the Champions League. They don’t ask me when it’s better to play to have one more day. It has always been like that.“
It will be the fourth year in a row that Guardiola’s team is facing Real Madrid in the competition, saying that it has almost become like a “derby.”
The first leg of the qualifying match will be at the Etihad Stadium on February 11th and the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 19th.
