The UEFA held the Champions League Round of 16 draw for the 2025/26 season on Friday, unveiling several heavyweight ties. The chief among them is the contest between Premier League club Manchester City and La Liga Giants Real Madrid. The playoff stage concluded earlier in the week and the playoff fixtures ended on Wednesday night, with the final eight teams getting decided to join the teams that had already sealed their qualification to the knockout phase.
When did Manchester City and Real Madrid last face one another?
Manchester City and Real Madrid have faced one another already in the season when the former recovered from being 0-1 down to win the game by 2-1. Overall, the two sides have face one another in 15 games, winning five and losing six alongside drawing four.
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will lock horns against Chelsea in a rematch of the last year’s dramatic Club World Cup final, which the latter eventually won 3-0. PSG had thwarted Inter Milan in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final, winning by a scoreline of 5-0. Arsenal, which finished as the leading club in the league-phase standings, will face German club Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich are scheduled to take on Serie A Atalanta. Both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur face challenging fixtures as they have their games against Barcelona and Athletico Madrid, respectively.
Below are the teams that secured direct qualification for the Round of 16:
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City.
The teams advancing through to the playoffs are:
Athletico Madrid, Newcastle United, Bodo/Glimt, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Galatasaray.
The first legs of the Round of 16 will commence on March 10 and 11, with the remaining legs slated to take place a week later. The final is scheduled for May 30.
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