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Manchester City fans were surprised by Phil Foden's exclusion from their starting XI for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout play-offs against Real Madrid. The match is set to take place on Tuesday, February 11, at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's starting XI features Ederson as the goalkeeper. Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, and Josko Gvardiol form the backline. John Stones appears to be playing as a pivot with Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in the midfield. Savinho, Erling Haaland, and Jack Grealish form the front-three.
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Manchester City fans took to X to react to the starting XI with many disappointed with Phil Foden's exclusion. A fan wrote:
"Bro,foden benched, what's going on here?"
"Where is Foden," another user enquired.
"No foden in the starting lineup," a netizen added.
"Foden absent, kovacic on bench and we expect to win," a fan chimed in.
Fans continued to express their concern about Phil Foden's absence from the XI:
"Why’s Foden benched," a user asked.
"No Foden ok then. Good luck," a netizen quipped.
"Foden given the team so much. Very unfair to be on the bench for this one," another X user opined.
How many times have Manchester City faced Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League?
Manchester City and Real Madrid have clashed against each other 12 times in the UEFA Champions League. Both teams have won four games each, while the remaining four ended on a stalemate. They first clashed against each other in the 2012-13 season in the group stages of the tournament.
The 2024-25 season marks their fourth consecutive time facing each other in the UEFA Champions League in different stages. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Real Madrid and Manchester City faced each other in the semi-finals. In the former season, Los Blancos won 6-5 on aggregate and went on to lift the trophy.
However, the 2022-23 season turned out to be a treble-winning season for the Sky Blues as they beat Los Merengues 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. They secured the title with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Last season (2023-24), Manchester City lost 5-4 on penalties to Real Madrid in the UCL quarter-finals after a 4-4 aggregate draw. Los Blancos went on to lift their record-extending 15th UEFA Champions League title last season.
Today's clash promises to be an exciting and unpredictable game as Guardiola's side have not been at their best this season. The Sky Blues are currently fifth in the Premier League table with 41 points off 24 games. Meanwhile, Real Madrid sit atop the LaLiga table but have been quite unpredictable this season with some notable losses in the UCL and the league.
