Manchester City is among the contenders not only for the Premier League and domestic competitions but also for the Champions League title.
In the last two transfer windows, Pep Guardiola has brought the squad to almost his desired level, and now he is required to constantly improve his players' level of fighting spirit and stability.
The draw for the new season of the UEFA Champions League brought the Citizens to face serious opponents in the general stage. In the fight for the main prize, the Manchester club will compete with clubs from Italy, Spain, Germany, Turkey, and Norway.
The presence of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and Napoli among the rivals further complicates Manchester City's journey. Because each of these teams, like the "Citizens," has set winning the Champions League as their main goal.
At the same time, rivals like Villarreal, Budø-Glimt, and Galatasaray are among those who can surprise any team at any time.
According to UEFA rules, each of the 36 teams participating in the general group stage will play eight matches: four at home and four away.
At the end of the stage, the clubs occupying the top eight places in the table will advance directly to the 1/8 finals. The runners-up from 9th to 24th place will participate in a two-legged "transition round," in which the eight winning teams will advance to the quarterfinals. As a reminder, last season "Manchester City" withdrew from the competition after two matches against "Real" in the same stage. Those who remain in positions 25-36 will stop their Champions League campaign here.
Check out the location and time of Guardiola's men's meetings in the following table:
Round 1: Manchester City vs. Napoli, September 18th
Round 2: Monaco - Manchester City, October 1
Round 3: Villarreal - Manchester City, October 21
Round 4: Manchester City - Borussia Dortmund, November 5th
Round 5: Manchester City vs. Bayer Leverkusen, November 25th
Round 6: Real Madrid - Manchester City, December 10
Round 7: Budø-Glimt - Manchester City, January 20
Round 8: Manchester City - Galatasaray, January 28
As you can see from this schedule, the most difficult challenge for Manchester City is the match in Madrid. Regardless of the stage of the sixth round match between Real Madrid and City, it has become customary to interpret it as the central match of the Champions League.
Moreover, these two teams also faced each other last season. In the return match at the "Santiago Bernabeu," Abdukodir Khusanov's reliable defense against the Madrid star Vinicius Junior was highly praised by experts - it is still remembered that the Brazilian star could not make effective moves on the right wing due to strong opposition from the Uzbek defender.
In addition, Khusanov has experience playing against Monaco from the list of opponents: the 21-year-old central defender played for Lens in the French championship against Monaco.
In short, the draw is complex, the goal is big: for "City" and Khusanov, every episode on the big stage, every standard and every game is a necessary step on the path to the final.
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