BLOCKBUSTER BATTLES
PEP v REAL MADRID IS THE PICK OF A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW FULL OF...
THE only crumb of comfort for Pep Guardiola is that he knows exactly what to expect. After all, the former Barcelona boss has faced Real Madrid more often than any other team in his managerial career — 17 times.
As Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain said after the two sides were paired in yesterday’s Champions League last-16 draw: ‘Everyone knows each other.’
Still, as Guardiola bids to win his first Champions League for a decade and end City’s wait for a maiden European crown, he could have done without meetings No 18 and 19.
It was a similar story for Liverpool, whose prize for finishing top of Group E is a meeting with Atletico Madrid. So much for group winners being rewarded.
There are at least happy memories to help Jurgen Klopp and Co enjoy the journey to Spain.
The holders will return to the Wanda Metropolitano, where they picked up their sixth European title in June.
‘Madrid is the place where we only have fantastic memories, all of us, so that’s great, but this time we play Atletico,’ Klopp told the Liverpool website.
‘I think we had the home dressing room in that game. Maybe we can ask them: “Can we have that dressing room again?!” It was really nice. It was full with Liverpool signs, but I think they’ve got rid of them.
‘It is fantastic. What can I say? I had one of the best nights of my life in this stadium, but this time — first and foremost — we have to go there to work and try our best.’
Neither Atletico nor Real are the powerhouses of recent years but both were among the sides which the English clubs will have hoped to avoid in the draw, held in Nyon, Switzerland.
So were Bayern Munich, who this season became only the seventh team in Champions League history to win all six of their group games. In another blockbuster tie, they were drawn against Chelsea — a re-run of the 2012 final.
Only Tottenham, who finished behind Bayern in Group B, could feel smug after yesterday’s draw. Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig stand between them and a place in the last eight.
Their 32-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann was on Spurs’ radar before they replaced Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho.
In the race for Europe’s top prize, though, City remain the bookies’ favourites despite a tough draw.
Begiristain told BT Sport: ‘It’s a difficult one, of course. (Real) have already won this 13 times, so they are the best in the history of the competition. We want to be the best, so we want to beat them.’
On the prospect of his and Guardiola’s renewed rivalry with Real, the former Barcelona chief added: ‘It’s always a pleasure to play against Real Madrid and to play in a big stadium like the Santiago Bernabeu. We know them. They know what we’re doing, our manager, our team.’
Guardiola’s record against Real Madrid so far reads won nine, drawn four, lost four. But City have gone beyond the quarter-finals only once, in 2016, when Real ended their hopes in the last four.
This time round, the two legs come in the middle of a tricky ten-match run that also includes games against Tottenham, Leicester, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Begiristain refused to say that Europe is City’s priority, despite them being 14 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
Klopp’s side are looking to win back-to-back European Cups for the first time since 1978. The final this year is in Istanbul, the scene of their greatest European night 14 years ago.
There is history, too, in Chelsea’s clash with Bayern: this will be their first meeting in the competition since now-manager Frank Lampard captained Chelsea to a maiden European triumph at the Allianz Arena in 2012.
Lampard said: ‘We have history with them, of course. The night in Munich is the defining night in my career and for all the fans a very special night.’
For Spurs, meanwhile, new frontiers await as they prepare for a first-ever tie with RB Leipzig.
Leading the line for the Bundesliga high-flyers will be the dangerous
Timo Werner but Mourinho has Harry Kane, the fastest player to reach 20 goals in Champions League history (in 24 matches).
Spurs ambassador Ledley King said: ‘It’s going to be a tough task. They’re a good side. They play with a lot of pace and intensity.
‘We’re hoping we can use our experience to get through a task like this against a side that are relatively new to the Champions League. Our manager has been there, done it, won the Champions League. That experience will rub off on the players.’
Other ties will see five-time winners Barcelona, Group F winners, play Napoli, who are currently eighth in Serie A, while Italian champions Juventus take on French side Lyon.
Paris Saint-Germain play twotime finalists Borussia Dortmund. Atalanta, playing in Europe’s elite competition for the first time, have been drawn against Valencia.