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Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain believes they face a difficult task in the last 16 of the Champions League after drawing RB Leipzig.
Pep Guardiola’s men will take on the Bundesliga side in the knockout stages next February, having faced them twice in the group stages last term.
On that occasion, City opened their European campaign with a 6-3 rout at the Etihad Stadium, before losing the reverse fixture 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena.
Having dodged heavyweight foes such as Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, City have theoretically one of the easier ties on paper, but Begiristain says they will not take their opponent lightly.
“Leipzig are not new ones in this competition – they are doing an unbelievable job,” he said. “They are in Europe, always, and they are fighting us in the last 16. They are growing as a club and growing as a project.
“This is German football – very open, box-to-box, which we don’t like too much, because we like to have the control. It’s going to be difficult, this kind of football.
“We are going to meet old friends – we played last season against them. They were very open games, and we can be sure they will be very attractive games.”
In comparison to their rivals, City have indeed been handed a kind draw, with Liverpool facing Real Madrid and Bayern Munich squaring up with Paris Saint-Germain.
With possibly two of the last four tournament winners set to miss out on the quarter-finals, Begiristain feels it shows the increased competition within the Champions League.
“Some big names and big clubs are already out – some of them are now not playing in Europe because they were last in the group,” he noted.
“It shows how difficult it is in this competition. Everyone has to respect their opponent in this competition and that is what we try to do.
“Liverpool and Real Madrid are two unbelievable clubs, and they were two of the candidates to win, but one will be out.
“But still the ones who are there in the quarter-finals are going to deserve to be there. We want to be one of them.”
