Three things are certain in life, death, taxes, and Real Madrid playing Manchester City in the Champions League knockout stage. Real have been drawn against Manchester City for the sixth time in the last seven years, this time with the matchup coming in the round of 16. Los Blancos have faced off against the Premier League side at every stage of the competition except the final, with UEFA seemingly pre-booking the matchup every season.
With this matchup happening every season fans are understandably getting tired of facing City every year and want to face other teams and experience something different. The frequency of how often the two teams face each other is truly sad when looking at it in a deeper way, let's take a look at just how often Real Madrid and Manchester City have faced off in recent years.
The frequency of Real Madrid vs Manchester City is quite sad
As mentioned earlier the two sides have faced each other in six of the last seven seasons, and if we want to go even further back, seven of the last ten, with the two facing off in the Champions League semi-final in the 2015/16 season. The two avoided each other for the next three seasons, with the next matchup not coming until the round of 16 in 19/20 season.
2020/21 was the last season when the two didn't face each other, with Real and Manchester City facing off every season since the 21/22 season. They met in the semi-final in 21/22 and 22/23, the quarter-final in 23/24, the knockout stage playoff in 24/25, the league phase in 25/26, and now the round of 16 in the 25/26 season as well.
That makes 13 games between the two teams in the last seven years, with the probability of Real Madrid facing Manchester City in six of the last seven years 0.038% (1 in 2575). With the two being drawn against each other this season, Real Madrid vs Manchester City becomes the first matchup to be played in the knockout stages for five straight seasons.
With the two sides playing each other 13 times in seven years, Real Madrid have faced Manchester City more times that Girona, a La Liga side in that time, and Manchester City have faced Los Blancos more times than Arsenal in that time. And it gets even worse, Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger have now faced Manchester City more times as Real Madrid players then they did as Chelsea players when they were actually in the Premier League.
Many used to view Real Madrid vs Manchester City as a matchup of two titans of European football, but now it's just as common as any other league game. The excitement of the Champions League comes from playing teams that you don't normally play, not facing the same team over and over and over again.