Manchester City v Real Madrid facts
Friday, February 28, 2020
Article summary
A first-leg comeback has put Manchester City in the driving seat as Real Madrid travel to north-west England facing a 2-1 deficit.
Article body
Manchester City are in the driving seat in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against 13-time winners Real Madrid as the sides reconvene in north-west England.
• The home side struck first at the Santiago Bernabéu on 26 February, Isco firing them into the lead on the hour, but the visitors turned the tie in the closing stages. Gabriel Jesus headed the equaliser before Kevin De Bruyne converted a penalty after Raheem Sterling had been fouled, a late red card for captain Sergio Ramos compounding Madrid's woes as they slipped to their 100th European Cup defeat.
• While Madrid are the most successful side in European Cup history, and have reached four of the last six finals, City have got as far as the semi-finals only once before, in 2015/16 – losing to Madrid as the Spanish club went on to claim their 11th title.
Previous meetings
• There was only one goal in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League semi-final between the clubs. After the first game in Manchester ended scoreless, a 20th-minute own goal from City's Fernando at the Santiago Bernabéu proved enough to take Madrid into the final, where they beat neighbours Atlético on penalties.
• The sides' only other competitive fixtures came in the 2012/13 group stage, when Madrid twice came from behind to win 3-2 in Spain on Matchday 1. City led twice through Edin Džeko (68) and Aleksandar Kolarov (85) but Madrid responded through Marcelo (76) and Karim Benzema (87) before Cristiano Ronaldo snatched a 90th-minute victory.
• It was 1-1 in Manchester, Sergio Agüero's penalty cancelling out Benzema's tenth-minute strike. Madrid ended with ten men as Álvaro Arbeloa collected a second yellow card in fouling Agüero to concede that spot kick.
• Those four points helped José Mourinho's Madrid finish second in Group D, behind Borussia Dortmund; City, then managed by Roberto Mancini, ended bottom with three points having not won a game.
Form guide
Manchester City
• City picked up 14 points in Group C to finish seven clear at the top. At home they beat Dinamo Zagreb (2-0) and Atalanta (5-1) before a six-match UEFA Champions League winning streak at their own stadium ended with a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar on Matchday 5.
• City have scored 32 goals in their last 11 UEFA Champions League matches; since losing at home to Lyon on Matchday 1 last season (1-2) their record is W12 D3 L1 with 47 goals scored and 15 conceded.
• This is the Citizens' ninth UEFA Champions League campaign and their seventh successive round of 16 appearance.
• In 2018/19, City brushed aside Schalke 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16, winning 3-2 in Germany and 7-0 at home – their record victory in UEFA club competition. That made City's last-16 aggregate record W3 L3, with wins in their last two ties.
• For the second year running City lost to English opposition in the quarter-finals in 2018/19, Tottenham eliminating them on away goals after a dramatic 4-4 aggregate draw (0-1 a, 4-3 h). Having also gone out to Liverpool in 2017/18 (0-3 a, 1-2 h), City have not lost a two-legged knockout tie to a non-English club since going out on away goals to Monaco in the 2016/17 round of 16 (5-3 h, 1-3 a).
• City have therefore won their last two home matches in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase – and three of the last five (L2) – but overall have won only four of their ten knockout matches in the competition in Manchester (D2 L4). In the round of 16, their home record is W2 D1 L3.
• City's record against Spanish clubs in two-legged knockout ties is W1 L4, with defeats in each of the last four. They have twice lost to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, in both 2013/14 (1-4 aggregate) and 2014/15 (1-3).
• The Citizens won their first home knockout game against Spanish visitors, defeating Athletic Club 3-0 in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg (6-3 aggregate) but are without a victory in their four subsequent matches (D2 L2). The win in Madrid was only their second knockout victory against Liga opponents, home and away (D3 L6).
• City's last home game against a Spanish club brought a 3-1 defeat of Barcelona in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage, after a 4-0 loss in Spain that remains their heaviest defeat in UEFA competition. Their home record against Spanish sides is W4 D3 L2, both defeats coming against Barcelona.
• Josep Guardiola's side have won 13 of their last 22 European matches, home and away, losing six.
• Champions of England for the second season running and sixth overall – four of those titles having come in the last eight years – City also lifted the FA Cup and League Cup in 2018/19, becoming the first English club to win all three domestic trophies in one season.
• City have never failed to win a European tie after an away first-leg victory. There have been ten such contests, most recently against Schalke in last season's round of 16 (3-2 a, 7-0 h). They have twice won 2-1 away in the first game, against Omonia in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round (2-1 h) and Porto in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (4-0 h).
• City's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-2 v Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
4-3 v Aalborg, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16
Real Madrid
• Zinédine Zidane's side picked up 11 points in this season's group stage, finishing second in Group B behind Paris Saint-Germain, who beat the Spanish side 3-0 in France on Matchday 1. Their other away games brought wins at Galatasaray (1-0) and Club Brugge (3-1).
• Rodrygo's hat-trick in the 6-0 home win against Galatasaray on Matchday 4 was the 12th scored by a Real Madrid player in the competition, one fewer than record holders Barcelona. At 18 years 301 days, he was the second youngest UEFA Champions League hat-trick scorer after former Madrid striker Raúl González, who was aged 18 years 113 days when he scored his only treble against Ferencváros in 1995/96.
• Madrid have now finished second in their group three times in four seasons.
• Last season Madrid did win their section but a team then coached by Santiago Solari won 2-1 at Ajax in the round of 16 first leg only to bow out 5-3 on aggregate after a 4-1 home defeat.
• Last season was the first since 2009/10 in which Madrid failed to reach the semi-finals or better. Their round of 16 record is W9 L7; they lost at this stage for six years in succession between 2005 and 2010 but had won eight ties in a row before losing to Ajax.
• Madrid have won their last seven away matches in the round of 16, since a 1-1 draw at CSKA Moskva in 2011/12; they scored 19 goals in those seven victories, conceding five. Their last round of 16 defeat on the road – and fourth in a row – was against Lyon in 2009/10 (0-1).
• Madrid have won 16 of their last 25 European away matches, losing just five.
• This is the 13-time champions' 50th European Cup campaign, more than any other side.
• Third in Spain in 2018/19, this is Madrid's 24th UEFA Champions League campaign – a joint record along with Barcelona. They have qualified for the knockout rounds in all of their 24 seasons, also a competition best.
• Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W8 L4; they have won their last three such contests, most recently that 2016 success against City.
• Madrid's last game against an English club before the first leg was a 3-1 defeat of Liverpool in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv, substitute Gareth Bale finding the net twice – including a stunning overhead effort – after Karim Benzema had opened the scoring.
• The Merengues' last away game against an English club was a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham in the 2017/18 group stage, ending Madrid's 12-game unbeaten run against Premier League sides (W8 D4). It was their first loss to English opposition since a 4-0 reverse at Liverpool in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg – their record UEFA Champions League defeat.
• Madrid's away record against English clubs is W6 D4 L6. They were unbeaten in five trips (W3 D2) before losing at Tottenham.
• Madrid have lost the home first leg six times in UEFA competition and won only one tie, recovering from a 1-0 loss with a 2-0 win at Wacker Innsbruck in the 1970/71 European Cup Winners' Cup second round. Most recently, they lost to Barcelona in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League semi-finals (0-2 h, 1-1 a). They have never previously lost the home first leg 1-2.
• Only five times in the UEFA Champions League era has a team turned round a tie after a home first-leg defeat, although three of those occurred in 2018/19; Tottenham against Ajax in the semi-finals (0-1 h, 3-2 a) and, in the round of 16, Manchester United against Paris-Saint Germain (0-2 h, 3-1 a) and Ajax against Madrid themselves (1-2 h, 4-1 a).
• Madrid's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-3 v Atlético Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final
Links and trivia
• Brahim Díaz made five appearances, all as a substitute, in City's victorious 2017/18 Premier League campaign. He joined the Manchester club in 2013 and also made three UEFA Champions League appearances in 2017/18 before signing for Madrid in January 2019.
• Between 2008 and 2012, Guardiola amassed 14 trophies as Barcelona coach, including the UEFA Champions League in 2009 and 2011 – beating Madrid in the semi-finals in the latter campaign – and three successive Liga titles (2009–11). Guardiola met Madrid 15 times as Barcelona coach (W9 D4 L2) and outscored the Merengues 33-15. In his playing days, Guardiola's Liga record against Madrid was P14 W6 D5 L3.
• Guardiola's Bayern München side lost 5-0 on aggregate to Madrid (0-1 a, 0-4 h) in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
• Have also played in England:
Luka Modrić (Tottenham 2008–12)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham 2007–13)
Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea 2014–18)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea 2012–19)
• Have played in Spain:
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad 2006–14, Barcelona 2014–16)
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club 2012–18)
Nicolás Otamendi (Valencia 2014/15)
Rodri (Villarreal 2016–18, Atlético Madrid 2018/19)
David Silva (Valencia 2000–10, Eibar 2004/05 (loan), Celta Vigo 2005/06 (loan))
Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid 2006–11)
• International team-mates:
Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho & Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Marcelo, Casemiro (Brazil)
Kevin De Bruyne & Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
Benjamin Mendy & Alphonse Areola, Raphäel Varane, Ferland Mendy (France)
İlkay Gündoğan & Toni Kroos (Germany)
Rodri & Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Isco, Marco Asensio (Spain)
• Sterling scored twice as England won 3-2 against a Spain side containing Ramos, Nacho and Marco Asensio – with Rodri an unused substitute – in the UEFA Nations League in October 2018. Ramos was on target for the home side.
Latest news
Manchester City
• İlkay Gündoğan made his 50th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, in the first leg. The German midfielder is the only City player to have been on the field for every minute of this season's European campaign.
• Kyle Walker's next appearance in UEFA Club competition will be his 50th.
• City won their last five games of the Premier League campaign, scoring 21 goals and conceding only one. After the league resumed on 17 June, City recorded eight wins – including a 4-0 victory against new champions Liverpool on 2 July – and two defeats with 34 goals scored and four conceded.
• City kept ten clean sheets in their last 15 league matches.
• Aymeric Laporte recorded his 50th Premier League victory in City's 5-0 home win against Norwich on 26 July, his 59th appearance in the competition; he surpassed Didier Drogba (60) to become the quickest player to 50 wins in Premier League history.
• City scored 102 league goals in 2019/20; it is the fifth time they have reached a century of goals after 1936/37, 1957/58, 2013/14 and 2017/18, an English record.
• Josep Guardiola's side lost nine Premier League games this season, five more than in 2018/19, and finished in second place, 18 points behind Liverpool.
• City have lost three of their 26 home games this season in all competitions (W20 D3), and have won seven in a row at their own ground since a 1-0 reverse against Manchester United in the English League Cup semi-final second leg on 29 January. That seven-game winning streak has featured 26 City goals scored and only one conceded.
• The Citizens have kept seven clean sheets in their last nine matches at the City of Manchester Stadium. The last visiting team to score more than one goal there were Crystal Palace, in a 2-2 draw on 18 January.
• City beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the English League Cup final at Wembley on 1 March thanks to goals from Sergio Agüero and Rodri. It was the third year in a row they have won the trophy and the seventh overall; it was their fifth final in seven years with victories in all five.
• City's attempt to retain the FA Cup was ended by a 2-0 semi-final loss to Arsenal at Wembley on 18 July. It was the first domestic cup tie they had lost since a 1-0 reverse at Wigan in the last 16 of the FA Cup on 19 February 2018.
• Kevin De Bruyne provided 20 assists in this season's Premier League – the most in the division and a total that equalled Thierry Henry's 2002/03 record. David Silva was joint fourth on ten assists and Riyad Mahrez joint seventh on nine.
• De Bruyne was directly involved in 33 Premier League goals this season (13 goals, 20 assists), the most by a central midfielder since Frank Lampard's 36 for Chelsea in 2009/10.
• Agüero has not played since suffering a knee injury in the first half of City's 5-0 win against Burnley on 22 June.
• City completed the signing of Valencia's Ferrán Torres, who has agreed a five-year contract, on 4 August. He is not eligible for this season's UEFA Champions League.
• On 3 July, Leroy Sané left City to join Bayern München.
Real Madrid
• Eden Hazard's next appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, will be his 50th.
• Madrid were crowned 2019/20 Liga champions, their first title since 2017, finishing five points clear of Barcelona. Zinédine Zidane's side won ten games in a row when the league resumed on 14 June before a 2-2 draw at Leganés on the final day.
• Karim Benzema finished the season with four goals in his last four appearances, and was second top scorer in Spain this season with 21 strikes, four behind Lionel Messi.
• Sergio Ramos, who is suspended for the second leg against City after being sent off late on in the first meeting, scored six times in ten appearances after the resumption of the Liga.
• Marco Asensio, who had been sidelined having ruptured knee ligaments in a pre-season friendly against Arsenal on 24 July 2019, returned in a 3-0 home win against Valencia on 18 June.
• Marcelo has not played since 5 July due to an adductor injury while Mariano has been suffering with illness.
• Hazard was out with an ankle injury between 26 November against Paris and 16 February against Celta Vigo, both 2-2 home draws. However, he was taken off midway through the second half in a 1-0 Liga loss at Levante on 22 February and was subsequently diagnosed with a fractured right ankle. He returned on 14 June and made five subsequent appearances, although he has not completed 90 minutes since 23 November.
• On 12 January Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup for the 11th time, defeating Atlético Madrid 4-1 on penalties after a goalless draw. The Merengues had beaten Valencia 3-1 in the semi-final.
• Madrid's interest in this season's Copa del Rey was ended by a 4-3 defeat at home to Real Sociedad in the quarter-finals on 6 February.
Official UEFA Champions League Man of the Match award introduced
UEFA will give out an official Man of the Match award after every UEFA Champions League knockout stage game to recognise the top performers in Europe's top club competition. UEFA Technical Observers at each UEFA Champions League game from the round of 16 on will decide who deserves the Man of the Match, with an official award being handed to the successful players after full-time in recognition of their roles in decisive moments, tactical maturity, creativity and inspiration, exceptional skill and fair play.