UEFA Champions League: Pep Guardiola excited for quarters showdown with 'king of the competition' Real Madrid

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has described Real Madrid as the "kings" of the UEFA Champions League after the two teams were paired in the quarter-final draw.

City, who won the competition for the first time in 2023 as part of a historic treble, comprehensively beat the 14-time winners 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-final last year en route to glory.

However, 12 months prior, City were stunned in a dramatic second leg at the Bernabeu and crashed out 6-5 on aggregate after extra time.

Meeting a round earlier this time around, ex-Barcelona boss Guardiola is relishing the challenge of facing his countrymen yet again.

“It’s a bit like a tradition, three years in a row playing the king of the competition who have won 14 Champions Leagues,” Guardiola declared.

“It is what it is, hopefully we can have a good moment.

“[There are] still a few weeks before the first game in Madrid. We’ll see.”

City will travel to the Bernabeu and host the La Liga leaders at the Etihad the following week but despite last season’s success, Guardiola refuses to accept the City have any advantage playing at home second in the tie.

“The draw you cannot control,” he insisted. “Normally when the people say the draw is easy, you undermine the other opponents.

“It’s not necessary to say what Real Madrid are in this competition, the second leg is at home but two seasons ago it was away, so it is what it is.

“We have to do two good games to go through.”

City’s maiden Champions League success may have propelled them to the top of the hierarchy of European clubs but Guardiola believes Madrid’s history in the competition means they are still the standard bearers.

Perhaps playing down his side’s prospects somewhat, Guardiola claimed he and City are content to be competing in the latter rounds and refuse to underestimate any team left in the competition, be that Real Madrid or anyone else they face.

“I would say for us it’s a little bit new, for Real Madrid it’s not special to play the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League,” Pep pointed out.

“For us in the last years we have been quite consistent, many times in the final, semi-final, final, now the quarter-final again.

“We start to be in this routine of being in the latter stages and when you play in the last stages you play the best in Europe.

“Real Madrid also is there. Sometimes the draw decides, sometimes we are through, sometimes we are out.

“I don’t pay much attention to any one opponent. All the opponents are really, really tough.

“We are excited because it’s a privilege every time we’re here, in the last 16 or quarter-final always it is. It is a special competition."

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain also gave his reaction to the draw, and hopes that the team's consistency and playing the second leg at home will prove to be decisive.

"We played them in the last two years in the semi-finals; one we lost and one we won. We have to remember the one we won which took us to the final and onto win the trophy," he explained.

When asked specifically what it will take to beat the 14-time winners once again, he replied: "I think it's the consistency we are having in the Champions League performances; we are winning our games and we feel strong.

"We go into these games with a mentality and willingness to win.

"It's always an advantage [to play second leg at home] to know that we will have the crowd with us. That happened last season [in the semi-finals v Real Madrid] when we performed so well at home."

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