UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Season

[Altryist]

To be honest, City will face either Madrid or Munich and both of those are huge games that would be very crucial. And also, the fact that one of these teams will lose out and not go further in the UCL at playoff stage is kind of funny, I really find it quite entertaining without a doubt.

I was against the whole top 24 thing at first, I believed that 16 teams should go next stage, starting with 1st place meeting 16th place and 2nd place meet 15th place and so forth, instead of having this extra 2 games, and felt like they did it just for the money. And while they may have done it just for the money, we are getting quite amazing games at playoff stage as well, and one of these teams losing out at this stage shows how difficult UCL became with this new method.

Real - City at such an early stage is not what I would like to see, but perhaps given how poorly City have been this season, this is a natural result. Maybe it will be easier for Real to cope with such a City, but on the other hand, City seems to be coming out of the crisis and I think Guardiola will definitely try to do everything possible to stay in the Champions League. But most likely, we can say that City were simply unlucky with their opponent, because I very much doubt that Real will fly out of the Champions League at this stage.

[sokani]

it's a shame we have to see the round of 16 without one of them. or maybe there will be another big team that is also surprisingly eliminated.
somehow I prefer to see both of them face each other in the last 8 or semi-finals, not in the playoff match to determine entry into the round of 16.
maybe Madrid will get that place. maybe I'm wrong.

The play off round is like a final, two big teams meet just to compete for one place in R16, this is very crazy and the first surprise in this new format. A bad new format in my opinion. Real Madrid or Man City one of them must stop their steps and I don't expect that because anyway both teams don't deserve to be eliminated early it will reduce the excitement of the UCL competition in the future.

Well, I guessed you're used to the old format that's why you're sounding this way. I don't want to criticize this new format because it's still in its experimental stage and btw I don't really see anything wrong in paring Real Madrid and Manchester City together because they're paired based on their performance in the preliminary stage. They both finished in the playoff zone and whichever progresses meet either ATM or Leverkusen, which did better and made the last 8.

[rahmad2nd]

Pep Guardiola seemed resigned when he found out that his opponent in the play-off phase was Real Madrid, a source from the BBC. Given Manchester City's current unstable performance, of course there are many doubts whether they will be able to beat Real Madrid later. But this is interesting to me, I hope there will be an exciting fight considering the strength of these two teams. I have not referred to the betting exchange, whether the bookie will give unequal odds to City. In the Madrid camp, this Spanish team seems to be more favored than Manchester City. Moreover, it seems that Madrid is more ready than Manchester City, Mbappe will probably be very happy to meet Haaland, he hopes to give his best performance and bring Real Madrid to the next phase. But in any case, City is a strong team, I remember very well that Ancelotti once said that it would be very good if City did not qualify in the play-off phase. And, this match is the challenge, not an easy job even though City is unstable.

[Velvet78]

Guardiola must be having the nightmare again.    Because he already had a very tough fixture waiting for him in the Premier League. And now it got even tougher after having a draw against Real Madrid here. There are only 2 weeks for the first leg by the way. Now I'm more curious about how he will handle this time period. The fans must be excited and nervous both. They see how unstable their team have been. Those wins over Chelsea and Club Brugge could be very misleading considering the general performance.

Personally I'm also one of those people who believe in Real Madrid to advance. Ancelotti reads Guardiola well. They were even worse in performance than Manchester City last season but they eliminated them. They can do it again while playing better this time. 

[Justbillywitt]

As the old format changed and we got a new one, I'm still to get accustom myself to this new format. I saw the draws for the play offs few minutes ago and I don't understand how come Beest and PSG were paired together. Brest and PSG are from the same league and this isn't yet the Quarter finals of the Champions League, my question is, why were they paired together knowing fully well that they are from the same league or the format changed, a new rule was applied? I'm ignorant here, can anyone help me to understand why we will be watching Brest Vs PSG?

That's why it is the new format, where football is supposed to be played by football teams irrespective of their countries... Lol. Maybe the old rule has been abolished. Maybe the new rules say that if you finished at a particular position in the champions League table, you will automatically face the next opponent who finished at another number. I don't know if you are getting my point. Let's say in the new format, if team A finishes at 13 in the table, he will face team B that finishes at 23. So it doesn't matter which country those two teams are coming from. I think that's what happened, that made PSG meeting breast.

Or who knows PSG might want to suck some more breasts.... 😂😂😂😂 The ones they sucked at Ligue 1 ain't enough. Lol. That's why they are meeting breast in the champions League.

[Minor Miner]

unexpeted game for Mancehster City vs Real Madrid.

I thought we would see both Manchester City and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. But now that is no longer the case. Two of the best teams in the Champions League are going to face each other in the play-offs. And one of them will be eliminated. And this will be the most competitive and exciting match of this round. Because both teams were considered one of the favorites for the Champions League title.

I will put Real Madrid ahead in this match. Real Madrid is a much stronger and more organized team than Manchester City. We have not seen much better performance from Manchester City on the Champions League platform. So I don't think City can win against a strong team like Madrid.

[Richbased]

My opinion though, for now it looks awkward seeing two giants play each other at this stage of the game, but as time progresses we might get use to fixtures like this if the big teams don't perform well to qualify automatically. We are only seeing this fixture in this playoff because big teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and PSG didn't do well in the group stages and has to undergo the stress of play offs. We might actually be seeing fixtures like this in the coming seasons if big teams don't perform well in the group stages.

Awkward should be an understatement for the recent development of Manchester City and Real Madrid, imagine teams like Lille, Aston Villa and Bayern Leverkusen gaining direct qualifications ahead of Manchester City and Real Madrid which are literally the most decorated teams in the Champions League and their respective domestic leagues for quite some seasons. It could have even be better for them that they didn't qualify than to get involved in knockout round play-offs let alone to meet together in the play-off round. I weep for Manchester City and Real Madrid because it's such a shame that in the end, one among them will lose out of the Champions League after the play-off round.

For Bayern Munich and PSG, their opponents may not be difficult for them to win but it's still a baffling situation that they found themselves in the play-offs round as well. However, Bayern Munich's opponent Celtic looks easy for them but for Brest against PSG, since the both teams are from France Ligue 1 anything can be expected because they are familiar with the way they play against each other.

[Sandra_hakeem]

unexpeted game for Mancehster City vs Real Madrid.

I thought we would see both Manchester City and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. But now that is no longer the case. Two of the best teams in the Champions League are going to face each other in the play-offs. And one of them will be eliminated. And this will be the most competitive and exciting match of this round. Because both teams were considered one of the favorites for the Champions League title.

I will put Real Madrid ahead in this match. Real Madrid is a much stronger and more organized team than Manchester City. We have not seen much better performance from Manchester City on the Champions League platform. So I don't think City can win against a strong team like Madrid.

I just wish Manchester City can make it an interesting one to watch just like previous seasons where they meet in the semi-finals. I believe Madrid will be the favorite here but City should take their revenge for other seasons Madrid denied them the trophy. This season's play off will be an interesting one because lots of big teams are in the playoffs which will obviously make it worth watching.

Manchester City still has what it takes to win this game just the same way Madrid does just that it will take Gaurdiolla to start working on possible strategies that will yield the aggregate he needs to move to the next round of the competition. Madrid is strong but I don't think they are too strong for City to do their home work before they meet.

[skarais]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

Both teams have started to improve recently and really I would also say that it was an interesting match. Real Madrid and Manchester City are not doing well this season in the Champions League, but you are right that Real Madrid is one step ahead of Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola and Ancelotti are both under pressure for the match. Of course, because both of them have to consider the match like a final considering that only one team will qualify for the round of 16. I would love it if Pep Guardiola could win that game and silence the many critics of his team's inconsistent performances, but it will certainly be difficult. Even Ancelotti will likely be confused because this is a tough match that he needs to win.

[ndutndut]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

Come to think of it, this is the joy of the new UCL format. There are many matches, many surprises, especially because the play-off participants are not kidding, in the play-offs all the big clubs. 

And what's interesting about the UCL playoffs this season is the match between Man City vs Real Madrid. If we look at the two teams, they have always faced each other for four consecutive years, and this is like a derby match in the UCL. The difference is, last season Man City was very favored to win the UCL, but lost to Real Madrid in the semifinals, and in the end Real Madrid emerged as the UCL champion. However, this season, Real Madrid is more favored because Man City is not in good condition. This is interesting to wait and see, whether Real Madrid can repeat the success like last season.

But what is clear is, if Real Madrid or Man City win in this playoff round, then Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen are waiting in the last 16. The journey of both teams in UCL this season, both Real Madrid and Man City, is very difficult, they have to work hard since the beginning of the UCL match and usually if they succeed in passing all these challenges one of them will become the UCL league champion. But if I personally want Real Madrid to advance to the next round.

[bering]

We just talking about the potention of big match on playoff stages few hours ago and it just happend that after drawing ended we will have 1 big match available between Manchester City vs Real Madrid and it's very unfortunate that both teams have to met early on playoff stages but if we see from head to head statistics i can see both teams have been met almost for each year and the latest is on quarterfinal of last season which at that time both teams has same aggregate and the team who advances to the next round should be determined through an penalty shootout

This season Manchester City performance is not quite well this because they lost some players who got injured which makes them unable to playing consistent but gradually they have found their shape again after some players were recover and return to play and for Real Madrid they are not so different compared to last season because Ancelotti still able to make this team consistent and do not forget too about Mbappe because currently he is Real Madrid top scorer and i am sure he will makes a different and about the prediction who is the winner i think Real Madrid has good chances to overcome Manchester City

[salad daging]

Guardiola must be having the nightmare again.    Because he already had a very tough fixture waiting for him in the Premier League. And now it got even tougher after having a draw against Real Madrid here. There are only 2 weeks for the first leg by the way. Now I'm more curious about how he will handle this time period. The fans must be excited and nervous both. They see how unstable their team have been. Those wins over Chelsea and Club Brugge could be very misleading considering the general performance.

Personally I'm also one of those people who believe in Real Madrid to advance. Ancelotti reads Guardiola well. They were even worse in performance than Manchester City last season but they eliminated them. They can do it again while playing better this time. 

People say this match will be like a final, so we should enjoy the wait because we know two big teams meet in the Playoffs.

I don't know about this match right now because Manchester City also has a pretty good performance but this team will be against a tough team that Pep Guardiola and his team will face.

If Real Madrid is not to be doubted in this Champion League, because this team always has a smooth way to reach the final even though at the beginning it often loses, do not be surprised if Real Madrid qualifies I already know such a scenario.

But if Manchester City qualify then Pep managed to subvert the big club UCL.

[Ahli38]

My opinion though, for now it looks awkward seeing two giants play each other at this stage of the game, but as time progresses we might get use to fixtures like this if the big teams don't perform well to qualify automatically. We are only seeing this fixture in this playoff because big teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and PSG didn't do well in the group stages and has to undergo the stress of play offs. We might actually be seeing fixtures like this in the coming seasons if big teams don't perform well in the group stages.

Seeing Manchester city and Real Madrid meet early like this is actually what I really don't want. Because after all that means we will see the round of 16 without one of them. But it's not the first time we've seen strong clubs brought together early. Because for example, in previous seasons, Real Madrid sometimes faced the giant Premier League team, namely Liverpool, from the early rounds or at least in the round of 16. But maybe this time Real Madrid will only meet earlier, namely before the round of 16, namely in the play-off round which determines which teams qualify for the round of 16. Basically these big teams are paying for their inconsistency at the start of the season. So like it or not, those who enter the play-off round have to meet each other early. But what is clear is that this will indeed be like a final again for all the teams in the play-off round. But I was having a chuckle remembering how Manchester City struggled in the previous phase just to get into the play-offs. And Manchester City continues to play matches like a final, such as against PSG and then Club Brugge. All of them are decisive matches for Manchester City. And now there are two more decisive matches, namely against Real Madrid in two meetings. 

[Uruhara]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

This is actually an unexpected coincidence, namely that the conditions of Manchester City and Real Madrid are actually quite similar in the Champions League this season. Namely, both of them have not performed optimally since the start of the Champions League this season. And both of them also struggled with quite difficulties in the initial phase. And both will have to make a lot of plays just to get into the playoffs. And now the two of them met earlier. Well, this is the culmination of the drama that determines two strong teams who have to eliminate each other just to enter the round of 16. Well, it's a little early but yeah, this is another surprise from the Champions League itself which always provides unexpected excitement.

I personally am also ready for an early meeting of these two big teams. because from the start I expected the schedule to be like now in the play-off round. But to be honest, I can't be a favorite to win for either of these teams. For me, Man City and Real Madrid have consistency that is difficult to predict in the Champions League. both are difficult to predict. It's just that Real Madrid seems to have risen early.

[Juse14]

..............................

If not Real Madrid then Bayern Munich will be Manchester City next opponent in the play off round, it is clearly a very difficult opponent to handle. With inconsistent performance, Pep Guardiola clear to worry about their fate in reaching the round of 16. In my opinion, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich are also worried if they clash with Manchester City, because the match will clearly be troublesome. Regardless of all that, Pep Guardiola deserves to be grateful because he managed to lead his team to the play off round by beating Club Brugge in the last match.

Manchester City have just completed a tough test to qualify for the play-offs, and now they face another tough opponent. Real Madrid will be their opponent in the play-offs.

In the home and away matches, both teams will compete for tickets to get a position in the last 16, and for the first match, Manchester City will appear as the host. Appearing as the host, Manchester City should be able to use this momentum to be able to take an early lead over Real Madrid, before they will later travel to the Santiago Bernabeu, again facing Real Madrid in front of thousands of Los Blancos supporters.

This will be quite an interesting match to watch, even though this is not the final match.

[cryptoWODL]

It will be difficult for City to eliminate Bayern Munich I doubt if this will be possible, Real Madrid qualifying is sure because they will definitely win Celtic to qualify to the next round so difficult game there will be Bayern Munich vs Manchester City one of this big team will definitely be going home I believe one of these team here between Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will be playing this season UEFA Champions league finals despite they qualify to the knockout stage I think they are gradually gaining back form unlike when they were playing badly.

The draws hasn't yet been determined as it stands until Friday before every opponent will know whom to face. Real Madrid Vs Celtic isn't sure. Real Madrid might likely be paired with Bayern Munich or Manchester City. It's till Friday before we will know which team that faces the other.

Whoever Real Madrid is paired with, I have the believe and confidence that Real Madrid will prevail. This is because the champions league have reached the point where experience becomes the major decider of matches and by that Real Madrid have no rival. We might even be surprised to see Real Madrid winning the champions league despite their struggles at the early stages. If you observe, they have been making gradual improvement in all aspect which have transformed the team into a serious force now. This year champions league have been fun and I'm sure we will see more surprises.

I have full faith in Real Madrid so I know Real Madrid will definitely not disappoint their fans. If you were to pick the best five teams in the Champions League this season, you would have to put Real Madrid as the favorite among those five teams. We all know what has happened before, we have seen before that Real Madrid did not compete well in La Liga but they performed well in the Champions League. Most champions league titles real madrid has won so far and most finals real madrid has played so I think this season real madrid will at least qualify for semi finals and finals. At one time of this season, Real Madrid performed badly, at that time I thought about Real Madrid, but now Real Madrid has performed consistently, so now I have no tension with this team.

I also believe that Real Madrid will not disappoint their fans, meaning they will definitely be able to win the trophy. But we can't call Real Madrid's performance in the Champions League this recent season a great performance. You mentioned that Real Madrid has won the most Champions League titles so far, if that's the case then maybe they will have to be much stronger to win this year's Champions League title. If Real Madrid are not able to perform aggressively in the Champions League from now on, they could fall even further behind, where other teams will have a better chance.

[FanEagle]

While putting all the importance into UCL is great, I do not think that is really that easy for any other team, and Real Madrid isn't really doing anything extra about UCL aside from just building a good team. I mean what can you really do? Lets say you want to win UCL, what can you really do that would give you an advantage that other teams can't do?

You just simply build a good team and then win that, there isn't really a "focus" that changes anything. Maybe you tell the players that no other game matters but UCL and that could be ok but that's it, nothing else really can be done. Real doesn't win UCL that frequently because they do something different, they win because they just build a great squad and that's it.

[Adbitco]

As the old format changed and we got a new one, I'm still to get accustom myself to this new format. I saw the draws for the play offs few minutes ago and I don't understand how come Beest and PSG were paired together. Brest and PSG are from the same league and this isn't yet the Quarter finals of the Champions League, my question is, why were they paired together knowing fully well that they are from the same league or the format changed, a new rule was applied? I'm ignorant here, can anyone help me to understand why we will be watching Brest Vs PSG?

That's why it is the new format, where football is supposed to be played by football teams irrespective of their countries... Lol. Maybe the old rule has been abolished. Maybe the new rules say that if you finished at a particular position in the champions League table, you will automatically face the next opponent who finished at another number. I don't know if you are getting my point. Let's say in the new format, if team A finishes at 13 in the table, he will face team B that finishes at 23. So it doesn't matter which country those two teams are coming from. I think that's what happened, that made PSG meeting breast.

Or who knows PSG might want to suck some more breasts.... 😂😂😂😂 The ones they sucked at Ligue 1 ain't enough. Lol. That's why they are meeting breast in the champions League.

Thanks man, your explanation really made a lot of sense to me at least this has calmed my curiosity of wanting to know why two teams from same league would be meeting at this stage of the Champions League. Lol, PSG Vs Brest, of cause they will continue sucking it from where they stopped in their league. It's an easy win for PSG more like a piece of cake, Brest definitely has no chance Vs PSG, they will be eaten both home and away.

[Antotena]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

I don't know how credible this mixing of games are but somehow my mind is telling me that Manchester City and Real Madrid selection is mostly done on purpose because tell me, is there a season Real Madrid and Manchester City don't join each other, most often they play and meet before the quarter final. It's mostly when they meet in knockout stage, probably to quickly eliminate hard guys or they don't want to combine hard teams and soft ones.

I still believe Manchester City wouldn't be able to beat Real Madrid, they are struggling in their domestic league and again, they are doing and here as well even the top teams in the Premier League are doubt better than them, Real Madrid going to play off was as a result of some bad errors that happened to them but they have since improved for now, if they can continue like this, trust me they will do better in the Champions League but I can't guarantee the trophy because of there defense strength.

[ajanwalker]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

Real Madrid seems one step ahead, but City is not an empty team either.
If City corrects its defensive weaknesses, it may have a chance to qualify.
Real Madrid is a team that stands out with individual performances rather than team play. Real have not been a good team and anything can happen this tour. There will definitely be matches with goals, but it is not possible to predict which team will advance.