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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Dominic Booth

‘We have tougher schedules’: Guardiola faces packed fixture list after Madrid draw

Pep Guardiola on the sideline before the Champions League game against Club Brugge
Pep Guardiola sarcastically said the schedulers were ‘always so kind with the calendar’. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Getty Images/Allstar

Pep Guardiola could not hide his frustration with Manchester City’s fixture schedule in February after being handed a daunting two-legged Champions League playoff tie with Real Madrid.

City’s failure to qualify automatically for the tournament’s last 16 means they have to face the current holders in order to reach that stage. City will host the first leg on 11 February before travelling to the Bernabéu on 19 February.

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