Manchester City host Real Madrid on Tuesday, in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
The Citizens have already negotiated their way past Real’s neighbours Atletico, as well as Sporting Lisbon to get this far, while Madrid have fended off Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
Pep Guardiola is aiming to deliver a first ever Champions League title to Man City, while Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti could win the club’s 14th European title.
City and Real are two of Europe’s most in form sides at present, but how have they fared in their previous meetings?
Below, we take a look back at the two clubs’ encounters.
September 2012 – Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City
The two sides first met in the Champions League group stages in 2012, and it was the Spanish side who emerged victorious. Remarkably, the game was goalless until the 69th minute, when Edin Dzeko put the visitors ahead. Marcelo levelled things up, before Aleksandar Kolarov restored City’s lead. Late goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo prevented Roberto Mancini’s side from a dream European trip, though.
City and Real first met in 2012
November 2012 – Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid
Benzema was once again the villain for City when the two sides met two months later in the penultimate round of group games. The Frenchman put Real ahead early on, before a late Sergio Aguero penalty levelled things up. That was City’s third draw of the group stage, and they exited the competition a fortnight later having failed to win a game.
April 2016 – Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid
The first time that these two sides met in a knockout game was in 2016, when Manuel Pellegrini’s side lined up against Zinedine Zidane’s Real. The Likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Aguero, Benzema and Gareth Bale all started the match, but honours were even as they played out a 0-0 draw.
The Spanish side knocked City out at the semi final stage in 2016
May 2016 – Real Madrid 1-0 Manchester City
By now, City were far better known as one of Europe’s best teams, and they proved this when travelling to the Spanish capital for the second leg of their semi final. Pellegrini’s side did well, but ultimately fell short of the final after a 1-0 loss, with Fernando putting through his own net in the first-half. Madrid went on to win the competition, the first of three consecutive triumphs.
February 2020 – Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City
City had to wait until 2020 for their first victory over Real, and they managed to do so in Spain. Isco had put the hosts ahead on the hour mark, but De Bruyne inspired a terrific late comeback, setting up Gabriel Jesus for the equaliser, before calmly slotting away a late penalty himself to give Pep Guardiola’s side a huge first-leg win.
City finally got the better of their opponents behind closed doors in 2020
August 2020 – Manchester City 2-1 Real Madrid
The match in Madrid proved to be one of City’s last before Covid-19 halted all top level sport. Six months later, though, the two sides eventually played out the second leg of their tie, and once again won 2-1. With two away goals in hand, City produced a dominant display and goals from Jesus and Raheem Sterling, his 20th in the competition, ensured they went on to face Lyon in a single knockout match for a place in the semi-finals.
When the two sides meet for a seventh time on Tuesday evening, there will be plenty to play for. Both teams are in pole position to win their respective domestic titles (although City face much tougher competition in the closing weeks of the season), and both Ancelotti and Guardiola will be desperate to add another Champions League triumph to their respective CVs.
