Pep Guardiola Reveals Jose Mourinho Plan After Receiving Huge Favour

Manchester City benefitted greatly from ‘The Special One’ in the Champions League

It was once the fiercest managerial rivalry out there. | Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola said after Manchester City pipped Real Madrid to an automatic place in the Champions League round of 16 that he will “of course” be sending his thanks to former adversary José Mourinho.

It was Mourinho’s Benfica shocking Real Madrid with a 4–2 win in Lisbon, securing their own place in the knockout playoffs in the process, that bumped Los Blancos down to ninth and ensured City’s 2–0 victory against Galatasaray was enough to sneak into the top eight—Guardiola admitted his players were “all watching it in the dressing room.”

Real Madrid losing by any margin was enough for what City needed. But Guardiola’s players and staff couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing when Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin went forward for a late corner and powered a header past Thibaut Courtois.

The Trubin Show 😲🤯😱🫢#UCL pic.twitter.com/HGpdqNm2Rc

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 28, 2026

Mourinho’s side were already winning 3–2 but still needed to boost their goal difference by one more to jump ahead of Marseille, who are now eliminated, and finish 24th.

“We didn’t know Benfica needed [another] goal to qualify [for the knockout playoffs], so when their goalkeeper went up, we said: ‘Why?!’ But it was a good strategy for José,” Guardiola admitted.

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Bye to Round of 16 Important for Man City

Finishing in the top eight means bypassing an entire round of the competition, avoiding the knockout playoffs that will be the domain of the 16 clubs who placed ninth to 24th.

That’s two fewer games to cram into a schedule already bursting at the seams.

Had Mourinho, whose time as Real Madrid manager from 2010–2013 aligned with Guardiola’s Barcelona tenure and saw both clubs push each other to the limit—tensions even spilled into physical violence between staff, not masterminded a Benfica win it would have meant two extra Champions League fixtures for City to play in February.

Man City did their job against Galatasaray but still needed help. | Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu/Getty Images

Now, that is for Real Madrid to worry about and, from a Manchester City perspective, the Champions League can be put to one side until the middle of March, allowing greater focus on a developing Premier League title race, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Even without the Champions League knockout playoff, City have seven confirmed fixtures for February, which would have been nine in the space of 28 days without a helping hand from Benfica. With FA Cup and Carabao Cup progress expected, plus the Champions League round of 16, March looks equally busy, with up to another six games in just 22 days before the international break.

Overall, it is potentially 13 games to play in 40 days from the start of February. The delight and relief that it is not 15 games in 40 days is very understandable.

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Man City Upcoming Fixtures in February, March—All Competitions

Date	Fixture	Competition
Feb. 1, 2026	Tottenham vs. Man City	Premier League
Feb. 4, 2026	Man City vs. Newcastle	Carabao Cup SF second leg
Feb. 8, 2026	Liverpool vs. Man City	Premier League
Feb. 11, 2026	Man City vs. Fulham	Premier League
Feb. 14, 2026	Man City vs. Salford City	FA Cup fourth round
Feb. 21, 2026	Man City vs. Newcastle	Premier League
Feb. 28, 2026	Leeds vs. Man City	Premier League
March 4, 2026	Man City vs. Nottingham Forest	Premier League
March 7, 2026	potential fixture TBC	FA Cup fifth round
March 10/11, 2026	TBC vs. Man City	Champions League R16
March 14, 2026	West Ham vs. Man City	Premier League
March 17/18, 2026	Man City vs. TBC	Champions League R16
March 21. 2026	*Man City vs. Crystal Palace	Premier League
March 22. 2026	potential fixture TBC	Carabao Cup final

*would be postponed if Man City reach Carabao Cup final

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Man City, Real Madrid Could Meet Again

The seeding process for the knockout phase means finishing eighth in the league phase throws up the possibility of facing in the round of 16 the team that placed ninth, 10th, 23rd or 24th.

Real Madrid or Inter will meet Bødo/Glimt or Benfica, depending on the outcome of Friday’s knockout playoff draw.

If Los Blancos are drawn into Manchester City’s pathway, they would be expected to get through to set up a knockout meeting for the fifth season in a row—they already played each other during this season’s league phase as it is and have gone head-to-head 11 times since 2020 alone.

Man City have played Real Madrid so much in recent years. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Man City vs. Real Madrid Results—Since 2020

Date	Result	Champions League phase
Feb. 26, 2020	Real Madrid 1–2 Man City	2019–20, R16 first leg
Aug. 7, 2020	Man City 2–0 Real Madrid	2019–20, R16 second leg
April 26, 2022	Man City 4–3 Real Madrid	2021–22, SF first leg
May 4, 2022	Real Madrid 3–1 Man City	2021–22, SF second leg
May 9, 2023	Real Madrid 1–1 Man City	2022–23, SF first leg
May 17, 2023	Man City 4–0 Real Madrid	2022–23, SF second leg
April 9, 2024	Real Madrid 3–3 Man City	2023–24, QF first leg
April 17, 2024	Man City 1–1 Real Madrid	2023–24, QF second leg
Feb. 11, 2025	Man City 2–3 Real Madrid	2024–25, playff first leg
Feb. 19, 2025	Real Madrid 3–1 Man City	2024–25, playoff seond leg
Dec. 10, 2025	Real Madrid 1–2 Man City	2025–26 league phase

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