Real Madrid vs Manchester City: Champions League history and head-to-head record

Real Madrid and Manchester City were among the bookmakers’ picks to lift this year’s Champions League trophy but one of them will fall by the wayside en route to London after they were pitted together in today’s quarter final draw in Nyon.

Defending champions City secured their first title after beating Inter Milan by the minimum in Istanbul last year. For the third year running, Guardiola’s team cross paths with 14-time winners Real Madrid, a club who have practically made this tournament their own.

Defending champions up against the club with the most titles

That is borne out by the all-time stats: the Spanish giants have made 43 appearances in this competition compared to City’s 15; and while for the Mancunians, this quarter final tie will bring up their 128th and 129th games in the tournament, Madrid are heading towards the 500 mark - they will be just 14 games off the magical figure when this tie is over.

The comparisons stop short there. For all their European pedigree, Madrid would probably have preferred any other rival other than City. Still fresh in the memory is last season’s semi-final when Pep’s troops fired four past their hosts at the Etihad, to book their place in the final and serve Madrid one of their heaviest defeats in European competition.

In total, Madrid and City have met 10 times in the Champions League - all but one of those were in the later knockout rounds. Let’s see how the numbers stack up.

2012/13: Group stage

Real Madrid’s first encounter with Man City in official competition was in the group stage of the 2012/13 tournament. They landed in Group D along with Borussia Dortmund and Ajax. A baptism of fire for the English club, who were making just their third appearance in the European Cup/Champions League and had to visit the imposing Bernabéu on matchday 1. The first 45 minutes ended in stalemate then Edin Dzeko fired the visitors ahead with 20 minutes left. That opening goal transformed the game - Marcelo responded for Madrid, prompting an avalanche of goals in the last five minutes. Aleksandar Kolarov restored City’s lead with a precision free-kick but Mourinho’s team hit back with last-gasp strikes from Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo to take the game 3-2.

The return fixture in Manchester on matchday 5 ended 1-1. Benzema got on the end of a Di María centre to slot in from close range with barely 10 minutes gone. The locals were back in it when Arbeloa hauled down David Silva inside the box on 72 minutes. The Madrid full-back was handed his marching orders and Agüero tucked in the resulting spot-kick, sending Casillas the wrong way. With three draws and no wins, City bowed out bottom of the group while Dortmund and Madrid advanced.

2015/16: Semi-finals

The next meeting produced similarly close results but with the same outcome. City reached the semi-final, the furthest they had ever gone in the competition after seeing off Dynamo Kyiv then PSG in the knockout rounds. Madrid meanwhile had left Roma and Wolfsburg in their wake. The first leg in Manchester was a tense affair and unsurprisingly ended without goals.

The return was settled by a soft goal - Gareth Bale’s shot from a tight angle clipped Fernando, looped over Joe Hart and in off the stanchion. Both teams had a couple of chances to add to the scoreline but the ball wouldn’t go in and it ended 1-0, setting up an all-Madrid final in Milan.

2019/20: Round of 16

The tide finally turned for City in 2020 in a tie that was directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The first leg took place at the Bernabéu on 26 February - little over a fortnight later, Spain’s government declared a state of emergency, plunging the whole country into a lengthy lockdown. Seven years on from their first meeting, the gulf between the two teams had noticeably narrowed.

An unmarked Isco slotted in to put Madrid ahead on the hour but City were soon back level. Gabriel Jesus nodded in a De Bruyne cross with a quarter of an hour to go and the Belgian had the final word from the penalty spot to make it 1-2 on the night.

The return leg was due to be played on 17 March but was postponed by UEFA due to rising Coronavirus cases and deaths. It eventually took place behind closed doors on 7 August. Raheem Sterling increased City’s advantage on nine minutes, pouncing on a defensive mix-up and while Benzema pulled one back to give Madrid a fighting chance, it was all over when Gabriel Jesus was first to the ball after another calamitous blunder at the back to stroke in the winner.

2021/22: Semi-finals

City and Madrid were back at the stage two years later to produce one of the most pulsating semi-final ties in recent memory. Both had won their groups but Guardiola’s team, the reigning English champions, started out as favorites. Madrid on the other hand had muddled their way through the knockout rounds with a series of remarkable comebacks against all the odds. Ancelotti’s team would pull out yet another miraculous turnaround to deny City a place in the final.

City stormed to a 3-1 lead in the first leg at the Etihad with goals from De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden but they let Madrid in contention after Vinicius clawed a goal back and Benzema converted a late penalty.

In the deciding leg, Mahrez was the first to find the net - his 73rd minute strike made the aggregate score 5-3, But astonishingly, Madrid defied the odds once again - Rodrygo scored twice within two minutes to level the tie on full-time and Benzema sent the Bernabéu into a state of frenzy by bagging a winner, five minutes into stoppage-time. It was one of the club’s greatest comebacks of all-time, drawing parallels with fabled clashes of years gone by when they bounced back to beat Derby County, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Inter Milan when all seemed lost.

2022/23: Semi-finals

Last year, City managed to get their revenge. They had learned their lesson: 90 minutes at the Bernabéu is a very, very long time and you can never write Madrid off until the final whistles blows. Once again, City were the bookies’ favorites and while the first leg in the Spanish capital ended 1-1, there was no contest in the return.

Bernardo Silva, Akanji and Julián Álvarez found the net to make it 4-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate. Pep’s team were on their way to the final for the second time in three years.

The 2023/24 Champions League quarter final ties will be played at the start of April. The first leg, at the Bernabéu, will take place on either 9 or 10 April, with the return leg at the Etihad on 16 or 17 April. The winners will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the semi-final.