Defending champions Real Madrid will renew their Champions League rivalry with 2023 winners Manchester City in a blockbuster knockout phase playoff tie after the two teams were pitted against each other in the draw held in Nyon on Friday.

It’s become a familiar sight in elite European soccer: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City. The Champions League's most engrossing rivalry in recent years will resume in a two-legged playoff next month to reach the round of 16.

It will be Real Madrid vs. Manchester City yet again in the Champions League — but never as early as this, and for the first time with a Kylian Mbappé vs. Erling Haaland matchup. Two heavyweights who struggled in the new eight-game league phase were the standout pairing Friday in the draw for the new knockout playoffs round.