Pep Guardiola has called for a revamp of the Champions League format to prevent teams from facing each other too frequently, yet he firmly dismissed suggestions that Manchester City have been handed a significantly tougher route than Arsenal.
‘It’s a Bit Weird’: Guardiola Questions Format as City Draw Real Again
The reigning champions were drawn against Real Madrid in the last-16 on Friday, setting up yet another blockbuster tie between the two European giants.
It marks the 10th and 11th meetings between the clubs in the last five seasons, a statistic that Guardiola finds problematic.
The Manchester City boss pointed out the quirk in the schedule that saw Real Madrid face Benfica in the final league phase game, only to draw them again in the play-off round immediately after.
“Today it is different. When I started, it was eight, nine, 10 teams. Now they want to increase a lot with the schedule and calendar. It is a question of adapting,” Guardiola said.
“But it is a little bit weird. Not many times does it happen that the last game of the group stage—Real Madrid v Benfica—is the first draw in the next round. People will agree or disagree, but it is different.”
Guardiola suggested the competition, now featuring 36 teams, would benefit from adjustments to avoid repeating matchups until the later knockout stages.
However, he quickly turned his attention to the draw itself, acknowledging the difficulty of facing Madrid but refusing to complain about the opposition.
“Madrid draw is a Madrid draw. What can we do?” he stated.
Despite the presence of most of Europe’s heavyweights in City’s half of the bracket, Guardiola rejected the narrative that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have received a more favorable path to the final.
Guardiola stressed that looking at the “draw suggestion”—the idea that one side has a clearer run—is pointless in a competition of this caliber.
For him, the focus remains solely on overcoming the immediate obstacle in front of him, regardless of which half of the draw his team occupies.
