Manchester City travel to Real Madrid on Wednesday night looking to move above their opponents and into the top eight
Real Madrid winger Rodrygo has insisted Champions League clashes with Manchester City have turned into ‘derbies’ due to the frequency they face each other. The Blues come up against their familiar foes on Wednesday night with plenty of history between the clubs fueling the encounter.
Last season, Los Blancos dumped City out of the Champions League at the play-off stage as a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick in the second leg secured a 6-3 aggregate win for Real. The season prior it was also the La Liga giants laughing as they beat City on penalties to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.
City did manage to get the better of them in 2022/23 as they thrashed Madrid 5-1 on aggregate on their way to Champions League glory. While this fixture is often kept until the knockout stages of the competition, the new league format allows teams from Pot One to face each other in the early stages.
As such, a trip to the Bernabeu awaits Pep Guardiola’s men this week and ahead of the fixture, Rodrygo has insisted the matches with City have now turned into a derby. He told UEFA: “It’s become a true Champions League derby. We play each other every year.
“Without a doubt it is one of our most challenging matches of the year. One side always makes things tough for the other. It’s grown into a real derby, an incredible, intense, back-and-forth contest. It’s a very special fixture that’s brought me great joy in the past, and I hope I get to see it happen many more times.”
The Blues head into the game full of confidence based on recent results. They overcame challenges against Leeds United and Fulham to pick up maximum points from those games.
On Saturday, they were in control as they brushed past Sunderland 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium. As for Real, they are in a much more challenging position when they welcome City in midweek.
This weekend, Celta Vigo pulled off a shock as they beat Real 2-0 at the Bernabeu. To compound the host’s misery, Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras were both sent off in the fixture but they will be available to face the Blues on Wednesday night.
Should City win, they will finish the week above Real in the Champions League table. But more importantly, they shall find themselves in the all important top eight which would secure them automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
