Champions League scouting report: Real Madrid | OneFootball

Everything you need to know about our Champions League play-off opponents Real Madrid.

We were drawn against the Spanish giants on Friday and will now face them for the right to play either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16.

The tie begins at the Etihad Stadium on 11 or 12 February, before we travel to the Bernabeu on 18 or 19 February. Fixture dates will be confirmed in due course.

Here’s a full rundown of our opposition…

Champions League history

There’s a reason Pep calls Real Madrid the ‘Kings’ of this competition. Having won it 15 times, they are more than twice as successful as anyone else.

Five titles in a row in the 1950s set them up as the competition’s outstanding side, before a sixth followed in the 1965/66.

Then they had to wait 32 years for the seventh success, but two more followed quickly – lifting the trophy in 1997/98, 1999/00 and 2001/02.

They have been the competition’s dominant side again since 2013/14, winning it on six occasions including last season’s Wembley victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Form this season

Five wins and three defeats saw Real Madrid finish 11th in the new look league phase.

Big wins and five-goal performances against Borussia Dortmund and Salzburg were backed up by victories over Stuttgart, Atalanta and Brest.

They lost at Lille and Liverpool, as well as at home against AC Milan.

Domestically, they sit top of La Liga with 49 points from 21 games, winning 15 times and losing twice so far.

They are in the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey too, but did suffer a heavy defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana earlier this month.

Manager

Carlo Ancelotti is regarded by many, alongside our own Pep Guardiola, as one of the finest managers in the world.

The Italian is the most successful manager in Champions League history, having won it five times so far. Two of those came with AC Milan before three across two spells at Real Madrid.

After a playing career as a classy midfielder, he moved into coaching in the mid-1990s and hasn’t looked back.

As well as Real and Milan, he’s coached other European giants including Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain.

New arrivals

Kylian Mbappe’s long speculated move to Real Madrid finally came to pass last summer, with the French forward joining from PSG.

Young Brazilian talent Endrick also came in to bolster their attacking options.

A big miss for Real Madrid so far this term has been the presence of metronomic midfielder Toni Kroos, who made the decision to retire following Euro 2024.

Previous meetings

This will be the fifth two-legged tie between the two clubs in the last six seasons, with both sides progressing through two of the previous four stretching back to 2019/20.

Last season’s meeting ended in a penalty shootout at the Etihad, with Real coming through and eventually going on to lift the trophy itself.

The 2022/23 campaign saw us demolish Real at the Etihad at the semi-final stage in one of the greatest European nights in the Club’s history on the way to winning an historic Treble.

WATCH: City 4-0 Real Madrid 2022/23: Match highlights

Overall, we have won four matches, drawn five and lost three against the 15-time European champions.

City connections

The only former City player in Real Madrid’s current squad is Brahim Diaz.

An attacking midfielder born in Spain, Brahim came to City as a teenager and struck up an excellent relationship in our EDS with Phil Foden in particular before he elected to move to Real Madrid in 2019.

After three years on loan at AC Milan, he has been regarded as a key player for Ancelotti in the last two terms – already playing 27 times this campaign.