Manchester City are set to face Atlético Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals this season.
The Premier League winners progressed in the competition by beating Sporting, while Los Rojiblancos sealed a berth in the last eight at the expense of Manchester United.
After settling for a 1-1 draw in Madrid, Ralf Rangnick’s side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford earlier this week and were eventually knocked out of the competition.
Atlético’s success against Manchester United and then drawing Pep Guardiola’s side means they will return to the city to face the English champions.
Enrique Cerezo, the Spanish club’s president, is of the belief Atlético’s latest trip to face United could help them overcome Pep Guardiola’s side in Europe’s elite club competition.
“The draws are like that, City have played us, it is a magnificent team with a magnificent coach, but we are too. We will have to see what happens. They are knockouts that are 50/50,” Cerezo told Movistar, relayed by Mundo Deportivo.
“I didn’t want either of the two Spanish teams to play us, neither Villarreal nor Real Madrid. Take a look at what was left. Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern…
“Well, we’ve got a team that, luckily, we already know their city. We know where we can go to eat, to have dinner and in which hotel to stay. We have just come from Manchester, we will return there and try to play a great game.”
The Madrid club’s chief stressed how his side can progress to the semi-final.
He said: “[With] work and with the illusion that the players will have to beat a great team. We would be happy to see Real Madrid in the semi-finals. A final in Paris between the two would have been nice.
“There are always reasons to dream, we have reasons to do it well. No team is easy. They have as much respect for us as we do for them. Simeone is a great coach, he has shown us the love he has for the club.”
