UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[$weetne$$]

The second leg is City's home match. City might perform well and win. But it is very unlikely that they will win by 3 goals. Because Real Madrid is a very experienced team. Although their performance is inconsistent, the players are very talented. And after winning by 3 goals, Real Madrid will definitely play defensively in the second leg and try to draw the match. If a strong squad like Madrid plays defensively, it is a big challenge for any giant team to beat them. Madrid will qualify for the quarter-finals anyway.

Madrid is not the type of team that plays defensively to avoid defeat or aim for a draw, and if they play that game directly they also give Manchester City a chance to turn things around because it will make it easier for Pep to play his tiki taka game, I think Madrid should play as usual for the second leg even though they are playing away they are experienced at the Etihad Stadium.

You are very correct about Madrid not using defensive tactics for their games and I do not hope to see them do that on this one after they had built Confidence already with the first leg where they played a balanced game and still won, I am believing they will use the same or similar tactics to approach this second leg, going for goals and a win.

[Abdulzuruku01]

Honestly I also surprised with kind of performances that Real Madrid were able to display in their first leg. Because I wasn’t expecting that they will  even have one goal against Manchester City base on how challenges their facing all this while in most of their previous matches, but with their much efforts they where able to got a positive results with a clean goals.

Their first leg has prove that even in the second leg Manchester City has nothing to do with them except Real Madrid lose guard in the second leg, but if they can use the same pattern they use play Manchester City in that first leg I’m sure they can still secure three points their next match.

Manchester City think they can make a comeback in the second leg, which in my opinion it will be very difficult, they have misused their chances and it would have been fair if they had only one goal conceded at the Bernabeu Stadium, but three goals honestly that's a big margin. And I'm very sure Real Madrid will pull out a strong performance in the second leg, they won't relax as Manchester City did because that was what affected them, they were too confident as if they have gotten the victory. Kylian Mbappe will be available to play the second leg and it seems like is eager to be part of this game, Manchester City still has a lot of work to do which if care is not taken they will lose both home and away.

[snipie]

You are very correct about Madrid not using defensive tactics for their games and I do not hope to see them do that on this one after they had built Confidence already with the first leg where they played a balanced game and still won, I am believing they will use the same or similar tactics to approach this second leg, going for goals and a win.

I expect them to play a bit defensively and count on counter attacks. By bit defensively I don't mean like 9 players staying in their half of the field but somehow most players are few steps behind their usual lines while controlling the ball and pushing forward to score a goal that will literally kill the hope of Manchester City.
Same thing will occur in the other games in my opinion. It depends obviously from the attitude of their opponents.

[hyudien]

Full results after the first legs of last 16:



32 goals in total... A great goal duel we watched!    Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSG were the top scorers in this leg. They are the clearest quarter finalists currently to me.

I would already like to congratulate Bodø/Glimt on their quarter finals qualification unless there is a big comeback by Sporting. Good luck to Galatasaray! They will really need it at Anfield...

I thought the group on the left, comprising Arsenal and Barcelona, would be the ones to celebrate in the Round of 16, given that the group was relatively easy, but I was wrong, PSG, Madrid, and Bayern Munich, all in the "death squad," were the ones to celebrate, only the Liverpool match had an unpredictable outcome.
I'm also less confident about Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona chances, but fortunately, they'll be playing the second leg at home.
Bodo is a dark horse in this UCL, they're already comfortably ahead and likely to qualify, I wonder if Bodo will have a similar run to Ajax? if anyone remembers, Ajax performed very well a few seasons ago, reaching the semifinals.

[Jaycoinz]

You are very correct about Madrid not using defensive tactics for their games and I do not hope to see them do that on this one after they had built Confidence already with the first leg where they played a balanced game and still won, I am believing they will use the same or similar tactics to approach this second leg, going for goals and a win.

I expect them to play a bit defensively and count on counter attacks. By bit defensively I don't mean like 9 players staying in their half of the field but somehow most players are few steps behind their usual lines while controlling the ball and pushing forward to score a goal that will literally kill the hope of Manchester City.
Same thing will occur in the other games in my opinion. It depends obviously from the attitude of their opponents.

One thing that will be certain in the second is the fact that Manchester City will be the team that will come all out and try to get an equalizer or score early so that they can easily get a momentum going and hopeful for the comeback of which with the looks of things will be very difficult for them to replicate. Real Madrid will for sure hit them on counter attacks and it would make the game so interesting as the both teams will be offensive in that game.

[Hvdv]

You are very correct about Madrid not using defensive tactics for their games and I do not hope to see them do that on this one after they had built Confidence already with the first leg where they played a balanced game and still won, I am believing they will use the same or similar tactics to approach this second leg, going for goals and a win.

I expect them to play a bit defensively and count on counter attacks. By bit defensively I don't mean like 9 players staying in their half of the field but somehow most players are few steps behind their usual lines while controlling the ball and pushing forward to score a goal that will literally kill the hope of Manchester City.
Same thing will occur in the other games in my opinion. It depends obviously from the attitude of their opponents.

One thing that will be certain in the second is the fact that Manchester City will be the team that will come all out and try to get an equalizer or score early so that they can easily get a momentum going and hopeful for the comeback of which with the looks of things will be very difficult for them to replicate. Real Madrid will for sure hit them on counter attacks and it would make the game so interesting as the both teams will be offensive in that game.

Real Madrid have fast players like Vinicius Junior and Brahim Diaz, and this could be a problem for Manchester City. For Manchester City, the most important thing right now is to score an early goal in the return match. Therefore, they will attack Real Madrid's goal from the very first minutes. Real Madrid needs to defend well. If they score an early goal, Manchester City will completely fall apart.

[puloweh555]

Honestly I also surprised with kind of performances that Real Madrid were able to display in their first leg. Because I wasn’t expecting that they will  even have one goal against Manchester City base on how challenges their facing all this while in most of their previous matches, but with their much efforts they where able to got a positive results with a clean goals.

Their first leg has prove that even in the second leg Manchester City has nothing to do with them except Real Madrid lose guard in the second leg, but if they can use the same pattern they use play Manchester City in that first leg I’m sure they can still secure three points their next match.

Manchester City think they can make a comeback in the second leg, which in my opinion it will be very difficult, they have misused their chances and it would have been fair if they had only one goal conceded at the Bernabeu Stadium, but three goals honestly that's a big margin. And I'm very sure Real Madrid will pull out a strong performance in the second leg, they won't relax as Manchester City did because that was what affected them, they were too confident as if they have gotten the victory. Kylian Mbappe will be available to play the second leg and it seems like is eager to be part of this game, Manchester City still has a lot of work to do which if care is not taken they will lose both home and away.

A comeback is difficult for Manchester City because the team they face is Real Madrid. Manchester City might be able to pull off a comeback against other teams, but not against Real Madrid. In the first leg, many doubted Real Madrid due to the numerous players absent due to injury. But even though Real Madrid hosted Manchester City in the first leg in a crippled state, the fact is that Real Madrid's wealth of experience in the Champions League silenced any doubters.

Real Madrid always has a reliable player in this match namely Valverde. He is a very complete box to box midfielder, capable of defending at right-back and building attacks as a box to box midfielder. He even scores goals with his extraordinary long range shots and can pass or provide assists, a perfect combination. In essence, Valverde is a complete midfielder strong in defense but also good at supporting attacks. In the first leg he was an anomaly for Real Madrid who often lost points to smaller teams in La Liga but also often remained strong against bigger clubs in UCL. So, in the second leg Real Madrid will do the same especially since they have a strong foundation after a landslide victory in the first leg.

[Ryu_Ar1]

A comeback is difficult for Manchester City because the team they face is Real Madrid. Manchester City might be able to pull off a comeback against other teams, but not against Real Madrid. In the first leg, many doubted Real Madrid due to the numerous players absent due to injury. But even though Real Madrid hosted Manchester City in the first leg in a crippled state, the fact is that Real Madrid's wealth of experience in the Champions League silenced any doubters.

The chance is still there especially when they play at home but I don't expect them to do that because I still expect Madrid to qualify for the next phase.
We know it's difficult but Manchester City also had a big win at the Etihad against Madrid a few seasons ago when they met so the chance is definitely there but I expect Arbeloa to be more serious in the second leg at least they can maintain their current aggregate.

A scheme like the one in the first leg was quite effective in keeping Haaland at bay as Rudiger and Huijsen performed very well and Arbeloa just needs to do the same where marking Haaland is not something they should miss in the second leg.
 
What's interesting is the possibility that Mbappe could feature in the second leg as well as Jude may be forced to play, which would be a great addition for Madrid.

[Zanab247]

The second leg is City's home match. City might perform well and win. But it is very unlikely that they will win by 3 goals. Because Real Madrid is a very experienced team. Although their performance is inconsistent, the players are very talented. And after winning by 3 goals, Real Madrid will definitely play defensively in the second leg and try to draw the match. If a strong squad like Madrid plays defensively, it is a big challenge for any giant team to beat them. Madrid will qualify for the quarter-finals anyway.

Madrid is not the type of team that plays defensively to avoid defeat or aim for a draw, and if they play that game directly they also give Manchester City a chance to turn things around because it will make it easier for Pep to play his tiki taka game, I think Madrid should play as usual for the second leg even though they are playing away they are experienced at the Etihad Stadium.

I must confess to you that Real Madrid really surprised people in that first leg, because it has been long we see Real Madrid secure such goals from any tournament, I have carry out some research about other clubs but as it stand now a lot will going to happen and it will cause the both strong and weak clubs little changes.

You think Manchester city will use home advantage to win  this game Real Madrid succeeded in securing goals that will make their next game stronger to their opponent, because this is the opportunity for them to do what will help them to eliminate their opponent.

[Stablexcoin]

One thing that will be certain in the second is the fact that Manchester City will be the team that will come all out and try to get an equalizer or score early so that they can easily get a momentum going and hopeful for the comeback of which with the looks of things will be very difficult for them to replicate. Real Madrid will for sure hit them on counter attacks and it would make the game so interesting as the both teams will be offensive in that game.

I don't know who is hoping for a come back but it is not possible, Manchester City will try but scoring 3 goals is far too difficult for them, despite being the home team. Real Madrid gave themselves lesser duty in the second leg, they are not trying to account for more goals, even conceding just one and defending the rest is a good result to crown their effort, City lost it in the first leg.

[Baki202]

Manchester City think they can make a comeback in the second leg, which in my opinion it will be very difficult, they have misused their chances and it would have been fair if they had only one goal conceded at the Bernabeu Stadium, but three goals honestly that's a big margin. And I'm very sure Real Madrid will pull out a strong performance in the second leg, they won't relax as Manchester City did because that was what affected them, they were too confident as if they have gotten the victory. Kylian Mbappe will be available to play the second leg and it seems like is eager to be part of this game, Manchester City still has a lot of work to do which if care is not taken they will lose both home and away.

And its going to be a difficult one for them to do a comeback because they equalized three goals, and this is me thinking that Manchester City should be able to beat Real Madrid, but no, we lost the game to them, and I was actually pained because this is the same club that we all think is performing poorly, and from the look of things, we should know that Real Madrid is performing poorly, but they still defeated us, so this is not even nice already, and now we are in a very tight condition.

And we could not even win a single goal yesterday, it was just one of the worst games for us last night, and I did not even expect us to even win, and it was the same person that scored the same three goals, which is Valverde, and now that Mbappé will also be available next game, it will even make it more difficult for us, and we need to score at least four goals now for us to be able to win against Real Madrid.

[Joy_learns_crypto]

One thing that will be certain in the second is the fact that Manchester City will be the team that will come all out and try to get an equalizer or score early so that they can easily get a momentum going and hopeful for the comeback of which with the looks of things will be very difficult for them to replicate. Real Madrid will for sure hit them on counter attacks and it would make the game so interesting as the both teams will be offensive in that game.

I don't know who is hoping for a come back but it is not possible, Manchester City will try but scoring 3 goals is far too difficult for them, despite being the home team. Real Madrid gave themselves lesser duty in the second leg, they are not trying to account for more goals, even conceding just one and defending the rest is a good result to crown their effort, City lost it in the first leg.

Why I think that it’s not possible is that Manchester City can score three but they will not prevent Real Madrid from scoring them.
Vini jr should have even put it far beyond Manchester City if he had scored the penalty but now Manchester City still have some believe and Silva Bernardo thinks they can complete a comeback.

[programmer3666]

Real Madrid are not going to defend, they currently don't even have the defensive prowess to opt for that strategy.

Real Madrid might stick to a more balanced strategy and will still get a goal(s) while also most conceding but in the end we expect them to qualify. The thing is they wont be stressing themselves and that's a plus already for them especially with their injury crisis currently.

If Real Madrid plays defensive football, they might run into problems because Manchester City habe sharp forwards that can score at every given opportunity. The combination of Haaland and Semenyo is all that is needed to turn the match around if Real Madrid slack in.that match. The only way out for Real Madrid is to come out and play as if thy did not have any form of advantage. This will make them hungry for goals because they need to score at least one goal to cement their winning and qualification.

Real Madrid trying to sit back and defend against a team like Manchester City will surely be very risky them because as of now they are battling with players with injuries and most of their key defenders are affected. City have very sharp attackers and they can punish any small mistake. The best approach for Madrid is to play with confidence and not depend only on defending their advantage at City’s home. If they go forward and try to score, it will also push City back a little, let it be tit for tat kind of tactics.

[Dzwaafu11]

You are very correct about Madrid not using defensive tactics for their games and I do not hope to see them do that on this one after they had built Confidence already with the first leg where they played a balanced game and still won, I am believing they will use the same or similar tactics to approach this second leg, going for goals and a win.

The second leg is going to be tough than first leg, because the second leg is going to be at Manchester city home ground, just the way you saw a good performance from Real Madrid in their home same thing maybe happen. Although can’t say much, but will see everyone was surprised to see Real Madrid performance in that match, let’s see if they going to do the same thing in the second leg, because it won’t be easy one in the second leg.

[Adbitco]

32 goals in total... A great goal duel we watched!    Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSG were the top scorers in this leg. They are the clearest quarter finalists currently to me.

I would already like to congratulate Bodø/Glimt on their quarter finals qualification unless there is a big comeback by Sporting. Good luck to Galatasaray! They will really need it at Anfield...

On average that's 2 goals scored per team across the 8 matches played, incredible first leg, having a back to back repeat of this kind of result is always difficult so I'm not expecting a high scoring second leg but I hope it should be interesting to watch. Teams that lost should be looking for a way to comeback which will make it exciting and will even produce goals as well but I still think wouldn't be like the first leg. Atlanta can't score 6 past Bayern Munich and even though Bayern Munich can replicate this score line, the coach will prefer to tune down in other to avoid injuries and unnecessary yellow cards.

[Agbamoni]

One thing that will be certain in the second is the fact that Manchester City will be the team that will come all out and try to get an equalizer or score early so that they can easily get a momentum going and hopeful for the comeback of which with the looks of things will be very difficult for them to replicate. Real Madrid will for sure hit them on counter attacks and it would make the game so interesting as the both teams will be offensive in that game.

That will be the death of Manchester City if they try to come all out to attack. Real Madrid will seize the opportunity to score more goals, and imagine if Real Madrid scores a goal first at the Etihad, Manchester City will have no choice but to kiss the competition goodbye. This was the reason Pep and his boys did everything to score at Bernabeu, if only they had scored a goal or two, it would have been a lot easier and hopeful for them to qualify for the quarter-final.

[promise444c5]

Full results after the first legs of last 16:



32 goals in total... A great goal duel we watched!    Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSG were the top scorers in this leg. They are the clearest quarter finalists currently to me.

Bayern keeps killing it, I hope they don’t lose to just anyhow team this time around.. they seem to be a good candidate for the finals

Real Madrid are not going to defend, they currently don't even have the defensive prowess to opt for that strategy.

This is one of the main reason they might actually defend in second leg.. Rudiger, Arnold, Huijsen are present despite the injury list, all they need is support from the midfield to lock it .
They did in the last match too , it wasn’t glaring because Mancity had no time to possess more. Not saying it has to but the stance of the game might make them to do it.

[abaeze]

Real Madrid are not going to defend, they currently don't even have the defensive prowess to opt for that strategy.

Real Madrid might stick to a more balanced strategy and will still get a goal(s) while also most conceding but in the end we expect them to qualify. The thing is they wont be stressing themselves and that's a plus already for them especially with their injury crisis currently.

If Real Madrid plays defensive football, they might run into problems because Manchester City habe sharp forwards that can score at every given opportunity. The combination of Haaland and Semenyo is all that is needed to turn the match around if Real Madrid slack in.that match. The only way out for Real Madrid is to come out and play as if thy did not have any form of advantage. This will make them hungry for goals because they need to score at least one goal to cement their winning and qualification.

Real Madrid trying to sit back and defend against a team like Manchester City will surely be very risky them because as of now they are battling with players with injuries and most of their key defenders are affected. City have very sharp attackers and they can punish any small mistake. The best approach for Madrid is to play with confidence and not depend only on defending their advantage at City’s home. If they go forward and try to score, it will also push City back a little, let it be tit for tat kind of tactics.

City are a formidable team at home under Pep Guardiola. They will be desperate to score a goal at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg, especially after losing 3-0 in the first leg, so it will be interesting to see what Real Madrid's strategy will be in this game and what new plans City have against Madrid. Keeping the ball in check with regular short passes is a great way to put pressure on their opponents and it will be interesting to see if their attacking strategy can win the match in the second leg or if there are any new surprises for the visitors.

[JiiBs]

Why I think that it’s not possible is that Manchester City can score three but they will not prevent Real Madrid from scoring them.
Vini jr should have even put it far beyond Manchester City if he had scored the penalty but now Manchester City still have some believe and Silva Bernardo thinks they can complete a comeback.

Maybe in their better days or one of those seasons where they had so much aura and posses so much threat, they could have managed it but as it is, Manchester City is good as gone from the champions league and they know it. Letting Real Madrid get 3 goal lead on them in the first leg of the champions league without them even managing to draw goals back was a huge flaw for the premier league side. Real Madrid don’t have to win in the returning legs, they just need to get a goal or 2 and they are good for it.

[BlackBaron]

Why I think that it’s not possible is that Manchester City can score three but they will not prevent Real Madrid from scoring them.
Vini jr should have even put it far beyond Manchester City if he had scored the penalty but now Manchester City still have some believe and Silva Bernardo thinks they can complete a comeback.

Maybe in their better days or one of those seasons where they had so much aura and posses so much threat, they could have managed it but as it is, Manchester City is good as gone from the champions league and they know it. Letting Real Madrid get 3 goal lead on them in the first leg of the champions league without them even managing to draw goals back was a huge flaw for the premier league side. Real Madrid don’t have to win in the returning legs, they just need to get a goal or 2 and they are good for it.

Now, Real Madrid only needs a draw to advance to the next round. Even if they lose by no more than two goals, they will still be in the next round.

What I'm waiting to see is what Arbeloa's plan will be in this match. Will they stick with the same strategy they employed in the first leg, or will they come up with a new strategy? My guess is that they will stick with the same strategy, they will wait and launch quick counterattacks with their pacey players.