Man City handed nightmare Real Madrid clash as Arsenal edge towards last 16 tie with former Champions League winners

MANCHESTER CITY have drawn Real Madrid in the play-offs for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola‘s side narrowly avoided an early exit in the league phase of the competition and have been handed a tough draw against the 15-time champions.

Reuters

Manchester City have been given a nightmare draw[/caption]

City will welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad on February 11 or 12, with the return leg the following week.

It will be the fourth time in five seasons that the two sides have met in the Champions League.

Because they finished 22nd in the league phase the English champions could only have drawn Real or Bayern Munich.

Celtic will face Bayern while the remainder of the draw has had interesting ramifications for the other English clubs.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa all qualified for the quarter-final automatically after finishing in the top eight.

But the Gunners’ reward could be a meeting with former winners AC Milan or Juventus – if they beat Feyenoord and PSV respectively in the play-off.

The draw gets even more difficult for Arsenal after that stage, with City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen a potential opponent in the quarter-final.

Liverpool face an easier route to the final on paper but they could meet PSG in the quarter-final, or Brest, Monaco or Benfica.

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While Villa could face Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting or Borussia Dortmund.

English teams have performed very well in Europe this season and are closing in on an extra Champions League spot for next year’s tournament.