Champions League draw confirmed as Man City and Celtic learn play-off fate
Champions League draw confirmed as Man City and Celtic learn play-off fate
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Manchester City will take on defending champions Real Madrid in a blockbuster Champions League play-off tie for a place in the last 16 of the competition. The Premier League champions missed out on automatic qualification and now face ties home and away to the Spanish giants. Real dumped City out of Europe’s premier competition last season at the quarter-final stage, beating Pep Guardiola’s side 4-3 on penalties.
![[Manchester City v Club Brugge - UEFA Champions League]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196085990.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Los Blancos went onto beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final Wembley to lift the trophy for the 15th time. Celtic meanwhile have been drawn alongside Bayern Munich in the play-off round. Play-off fixtures will be decided over two legs with ties to be played 11-12 February and 18-19 February. Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan have both been paired with Dutch opposition against Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven respectively while there is an all-French clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Brest.
![[Manchester City v Salford City - Emirates FA Cup Third Round]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193615259.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa all secured automatic qualification to the knockout stages after finishing within the top eight of the league phase. They progress immediately to the last 16 stage with that draw taking place on Friday 21 February. City finished 22nd in the initial league phase of the competition, missing out on that automatic route to the last 16.
The Premier League champions fell behind early in their final match against Club Brugge and faced the prospect of elimination before turning things around to win 3-1. Going to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid will be really tough,’ Guardiola said on Wednesday night, ahead of the draw. ‘But it’s in two weeks and in two weeks we have a few players back, the new signings back, so hopefully we can do two good games.
‘They are better than us right now, both of them, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next two weeks. ‘Ruben [Dias] and Nathan [Aké] are back, Jérémy [Doku], Oscar [Bobb], new signings. If everybody comes back, we can compete.’. Arrow MORE: Chelsea face battle with Manchester United to sign £58m transfer target. Arrow MORE: Jamie Redknapp reveals what Harry Kane told him about Tottenham target Mathys Tel.
