Manchester City and Real Madrid have become Champions League history makers straight from kick-off.
Two of European football’s heavyweights are battling for a coveted spot in this season’s last 16, live on talkSPORT.
City underperformed in the league phase by winning just three of their eight matches to finish 22nd in the table.
Madrid fared a bit better with a final standing of 11th but it wasn’t enough to send them straight through to the knockout stage.
They are now competing in a two-legged play-off tie to decide who advances, with the first leg at the Etihad Stadium making history.
City vs Madrid is just the fourth ever European Cup/UEFA Champions League fixture to be played in four consecutive seasons.
Deportivo de La Coruna and Juventus were the trendsetters in the 2000/01 and 2003/04 seasons with four clashes between them.
Chelsea vs Liverpool entertained fans on five occasions from the 2004/05 campaign to 2008/09.
Arch-rivals Atletico Madrid and Madrid then met on four occasions, starting in the 2013/14 final until the 2016/17 season.
The 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns saw City and Madrid meet in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Last season it was a quarter-final clash between the two, but their latest fixture has come in a new stage of Europe’s elite competition.
One of Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen will meet City or Madrid in the last 16 following the outcome of the second leg on February 19.
