The collision of Liverpool against Manchester City next month only comes a few days after Pep Guardiola's side has been involved in a huge play-off from Champions League.
The group stage ended on Wednesday evening with City won the victory they needed at Club Brugge to sneak through in the knockout play-off phase. In the meantime, Liverpool finished at the top of the stack, won seven of their eight games, and they immediately enter the round of 16.
The side of Guardiola has been given a challenging draw and will discover this week whether they are confronted with Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
The first stage takes place on 11 or 12 February with the return match a week later. Days later, Liverpool goes to the Etihad on February 23 for a competition that could have title statements.
The Reds had the week off to prepare for the champions, which they want to replace as the Premier League elite outfit. In the meantime, City may have just returned from a game in Europe, o is the way the matches have disappeared.
Liverpool already has an impressive lead, which is six points for Arsenal with a game in his hand to come. City is now effective from the race after a bad few months that limit their own challenge.
If Guardiola wants to win a trophy, the Champions League is one of only two options. The Manchester -Outfit is also in the FA Cup, where the Catalaan has not experienced a trophy -free season since its first campaign in England in 2016/17.
The city boss confessed that they did not earn a chance draw in Europe with three losses in the group stage that forced them to take the difficult route. He said: “We deserve it. I don't know if they like to play against us, but it's what it is. No complaints. We're going to face them – one is the king of the competition, the other is the second or third. “
If the Premier League side, which Europe would conquer, Bayern or really overcome in 2023, they would be confronted with a last 16 collision against Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
Comments