City were paired with the 15-times winners in the last-16 knockout round with the ties to be played on the 10/11 and 17/18 March, with the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
We’ve already faced the Spanish giants this season in the league phase, winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu in December thanks to goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland.
This will be the sixth two-legged tie between the two clubs in the last seven seasons, with City progressing in two of the previous five meetings stretching back to 2019/20.
With City or Real featuring in four of the last five Champions League finals, the draw has brought together two of the most successful sides of recent years.
“It’s a big game for both teams,” Viana said following the draw at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon.
“We played against each other already in the group phase.
“It will be a really nice game to watch and a nice game to be involved in. Of course it’s like a final.
“We are happy to go there again and to have this kind of opponent and these kind of games.”
The draw also outlined potential opponents for the quarter-finals and semi-finals should we make it.
City will face either Atalanta or Bayern Munich in the last eight, with the possibility of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Galatasaray or Liverpool in a semi-final.
However, Viana says no one will be looking too far ahead, with such a difficult Round of 16 tie to navigate.
“It’s too soon to speak about the final,” he said when asked about progressing in the competition. “We should think about it game by game.
“Now we have a strong opponent to face and we cannot think about the final.”
The ties will be played on the 10/11 and 17/18 March, with City to host the second leg after finishing in the top eight of the league phase.
Exact fixture dates, kick-off times and ticket details will follow on mancity.com and our official app later today.
