At this point, the only stage that Real Madrid and Manchester City have never met in the Champions League, the only finals are left.

The results of the first phase of the Champions League draw in the 25-26 season have been released. Since the new competition system has been implemented for one season, everyone has initially disgraced the 36-strong melee mode. Although there are many heavy matches in the draw results, this is basically the norm in this stage and there is no big fuss. Moreover, as a wealthy family, as long as you get enough points from the weak team and then have a better luck, you still have a great chance of being shortlisted for the top eight.

What is slightly subtle is that Real Madrid actually played away against Liverpool at this stage after last season. Last season, Liverpool took advantage of Real Madrid's turmoil to sweep away the previous eight unbeat trend and beat Real Madrid 2:0. While regaining its face, it also accelerated the pace of advancement in the third line. As of now, neither Liverpool nor Real Madrid seem to have obvious ups and downs. Relatively speaking, Liverpool is stronger, and Real Madrid has not yet shown its super domineering power under the leadership of Alonso. However, among Real Madrid's eight opponents, Manchester City is the most worth mentioning. The two teams met again this season and the situation was different. In fact, as early as last season, the two teams met in the play-offs, and Manchester City was a bit in decline at that time. Of course, Real Madrid's situation was not good either. In the previous three seasons, the two teams met, which were an absolute peak duel, and contributed countless classic scenes to us. This season, Real Madrid can only say that they are stable and mediocre, and Manchester City seems to have not recovered from the pathology of last season. This showdown may be different from the peak form in previous years. Of course, the biggest gimmick behind this game is not the result, after all, this is just an ordinary game in the first stage; and the biggest gimmick is that Manchester City has made its fortune for just over a decade and has reached a state where many top giants have not yet achieved it - they have met Real Madrid in almost all stages of the Champions League. Of course, you can be more serious about the second stage of the Champions League group stage in the turn of the century. But if we extend this topic, in the Champions League earlier, the knockout quarterfinals played in the group single cycle. So, today's topic will start from the 2003 to 2004 seasons. From this season, the Champions League officially confirmed the top 32 8 groups, and then the eighth, quarter, semi-final and final. Until last season, it changed to a 36-strong melee.

Okay, let's list the stages that Real Madrid and Manchester City have encountered. First of all, the group stage before the reform. From the 12th to 2013, Manchester City, which had just risen for a while, was lucky enough to be in the same group as Real Madrid. As a result, Manchester City drew 1 and lost 1 against Real Madrid, and was eventually eliminated at the bottom. However, at that time, Manchester City could only play to this level. Then there is the quarterfinals. From the 19th to 20th season, Manchester City defeated Real Madrid twice. At that time, Real Madrid was in a decline after three consecutive championships, and was caught by Manchester City. The quarter-finals example is the 23-24 seasons. At that time, both sides staged a world goal battle in the first round, and entered a penalty shootout in the second round, and Manchester City unfortunately lost. There are many examples of semi-finals, three times in total. It is the 15th to 16th season, the 21th to 22th season, and the 22th to 23th season. Because it is too classic, I won’t go into details. Then enter the new competition system. In fact, compared with the old competition system, the new competition system is nothing more than the group stage being replaced by the first stage melee, and a playoff was added. The other schedules are exactly the same. Last season, Real Madrid and Manchester City met in the play-offs, taking up this stage. This season, Real Madrid met with Manchester City in the first stage, so basically all stages are full. At this point, only the finals are left. In fact, a few years ago, Real Madrid and Manchester City were definitely the most peak matchup in European football. Such a collision should have occurred in the final. But the two teams always have a destiny to the semi-finals. However, from the 20 to 21 season, after both sides entered the semi-finals, they were not in the same district, but Real Madrid was eliminated by Chelsea and failed to meet with Manchester City in the finals. But now, Real Madrid and Manchester City are no longer the C-place teams in the Champions League. This season, neither team has entered the top four favorites to win the championship, which is a pity. Next, it depends on when the two teams can meet our expectations for the peak final showdown.