After leaving Manchester City wounded in their backyard, defending champions Real Madrid completely outclassed the Premier League champions at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of the UCL playoff round on Wednesday. Entering the field with a one-goal lead, the Los Blancos struck three more on the night to dash City's hopes. Madrid's star summer signing, Kylian Mbappe, emerged as the chief orchestrator of Madrid's win as he netted a hattrick on the night. City scored a consolation goal in the end but an aggregate of 6-3 meant that Real Madrid will progress to the last 16 of the tournament.
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Kylian Mbappe Picks Who Real Madrid Should Face in UCL Round of 16
Having gotten past City again, Real Madrid will next take on either Atletico Madrid or Leverkusen. As Atleti has proven to be a bogey team for Madrid in the past, Madrid fans would want to avoid the City rivals for the time being. However, Kylian Mbappe isn't concerned about what happened in the past and has a logical reason for picking Diego Simeone's side as the ideal competitor for the next round.
As the players of Madrid had to go through an exhaustible schedule, playing in La Liga, Club World Cup, Copa Del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, and of course the UEFA Champions League simultaneously, the players tend to feel tired and want to cut down the travel time. Mbappe has highlighted the same and thus sees Atletico as the better choice since the club is based in Madrid, which will give the team some respite when it comes to travelling.
"Honestly, I would rather we are drawn against Atleti. They and Bayern are two great clubs and it would be difficult either way.
"But in the next round, it would be much better for us if we don’t have to travel – we travel so much!’
"Bayer Leverkusen or Atleti next? Both difficult but I prefer Atleti, so we save ourselves a trip!’
Real Madrid has eliminated Manchester City once again from the Champions League competition, consequently reaching the round of 16 of the tournament. It will be intriguing to see what's next in store for the Royal Whites.