The tremendous blow that Madrid took at the Etihad took him out of this Champions League with a stroke of the pen and, incidentally, complicated the next one. The whites already know that next season they will be in pot 2 of the group stage draw, scheduled for August 7.
Although it is not as serious as years ago after the remodeling of the seedings imposed by UEFA (more relevance of national champions than of the ranking), the truth is that Madrid can meet old acquaintances in that hype. A combination of a tough first and a dangerous third can cause problems, as happened to Barcelona in the last Champions League when they matched Bayern, from 1, and Inter, from 3.
Right now, the only insurance among Madrid’s possible rivals that knows that it will be seeded is Napoli, champions of Italy. Barcelona is also safe in that ballot box, although it cannot touch the whites as they are of the same nationality.
The others must be defined with the end of the leagues. This same weekend it can already be known that City is champion of the Premier and PSG, of Ligue 1. Both would go to hype 1 and both would be potential rivals for Madrid. It goes without saying that they would revive recent and tense disputes with the Real Madrid fans, although in this case with the aggravating circumstance that it would be in the group stage. The same with Bayern, who have the Bundesliga in their hands unless they stumble unexpectedly in the remaining two days.
The Europa League champion will also have a place among the best, which could lead to Roma sneaking in if they are able to win the title. The same happens with the champion of the Champions League: if it is Inter, it will go to pot 1; if it’s City, the same thing, and if Guardiola’s team also combines it with the Premier, it will give entry to the champion of another league in pot 1, which would be Dutch (Feyenoord). Also the Portuguese (Benfica or Porto) has a guaranteed place.