Manchester City host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie this evening as two of Europe’s biggest clubs collide.
Manchester City managed to sneak in to the play-offs with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge in the final match of the league phase after a difficult continental campaign. Though attempts were made to strengthen the team in the January window, Pep Guardiola’s side are still struggling domestically by their lofty standards and their manager will fear a premature exit from this competition if they fail to improve.
They take on Real Madrid in Europe for the fourth season in a row, with the Spanish side having twice knocked out the English club either side of a 4-0 thrashing by the hosts at the Etihad Stadium in 2023. Carlo Ancelotti’s men top La Liga despite some recent struggles of their own, with a dynamic forward line perhaps not quite yet delivering the cohesion and consistency they will need to go deep in Europe.
Follow all of the latest from the Etihad Stadium in our live blog below:
Manchester City vs Real Madrid LIVE
Man City face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions Leaugue play-off tie, with kick-off at 8pm | Live on TNT
City edged into the play-offs after a win over Club Brugge in their final league phase match
Madrid finished 11th in the league phase after some mixed results
Manchester City FC - Real Madrid CF
Good evening!
12:06 , Mike Jones
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Champions League action as Manchester City play host to Real Madrid in the first leg of their play-off tie.
One of Europe’s biggest teams will be exiting the competition ahead of the last-16 stage as Pep Guardiola attempts to mastermind a victory against Carlo Ancelotti’s serial winners.
We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and more tonight so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 8pm.
