Real Madrid could face Man City in the near future but celebrates return to good form

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid is celebrating its return to good form despite placing low in the Champions League and failing to avoid a possible playoff against Manchester City.

Madrid's slow start in the European competition kept the defending champion from going straight into the round of 16 — and possibly set up an encounter with Man City in the playoffs. But the team's convincing performances recently has coach Carlo Ancelotti and his players feeling optimistic entering the second half of the season.

Madrid will defend its lead in La Liga when it visits Espanyol on Saturday, three days after it won at Brest 3-0 in the final group match of the Champions League. Friday's draw will determine if it will play Man City or Celtic in the playoffs.

“It was important to get the win, important to finish the group stage strong," midfielder Jude Bellingham said. "We probably let ourselves down in a few of the games and that is the reason why we have ended up in the (knockout phase playoffs). We’ll try and face whatever obstacle comes with a better face and you can see that we are definitely starting to click as a team in the last few weeks.”

Madrid lost three of its first six Champions League matches but won the last three to avoid the risk of elimination. It was not enough to finish high enough to avoid the potential matchup against City, but helped to boost the team's confidence. Madrid will go into the weekend match at Espanyol with 10 victories in its last 11 matches in all competitions.

The setback in the run was costly — a 5-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia in January. But since then, Ancelotti's team has played well again, with the attack of Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappé clicking.

Since the Barcelona loss, Madrid has outscored opponents 20-4 in five matches, with Rodrygo scoring five times, Vinícius three times and Mbappé six times.

“We’re very happy. It’s a shame we couldn’t wake up that little bit earlier in the competition but we’re pleased to be in this kind of form at this stage,” Ancelotti said. “We’re in good shape and there’s a positive vibe around the place. We want to keep it up.”

Madrid has a four-point lead over Atletico Madrid in La Liga, where it also is the defending champion. Madrid sits seven points in front of Barcelona. In the Copa del Rey, Madrid will visit Leganes next week in the round of 16.

Other matches

After routing Valencia 7-1 in its previous league game, Barcelona — unbeaten in eight matches in all tournaments — visits 17th-placed Alaves on Sunday. Second-placed Atletico has only two wins in its last four matches after a run of 15 consecutive victories. It hosts sixth-placed Mallorca on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press