Real Madrid handed nightmare tie in Champions League playoff draw | OneFootball

UEFA have held the draw for the playoff stage of their revamped Champions League this morning, as the teams who finished between 8th and 24th find out who they will face for a place in the last 16.

The only Spanish team to be involved at this stage of the competition is Real Madrid, as Barcelona and Atlético Madrid have qualified directly for the last 16.

If the blow of having to play an extra two matches was not enough for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, they have also been hit with an incredibly difficult fixture against Premier League champions Manchester City.

Should they make it past Pep Guardiola’s side they will have another tough tie against either German champions Bayer Leverkusen or city rivals Atlético Madrid in the Last 16.

There is still the difficult matter of a two-legged tie against Man City though, and while the English side has had some difficult spells of form so far this season, on their day they are capable of beating anyone in the world.

The first leg of the tie is set for either the 11th or 12th of February while the second leg will be a week later, on the 18th or 19th of the same month.

GSFN | Ciaran Currie