The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw has been made public. In an interesting new development, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the reigning champions, will face FC Copenhagen of Denmark. This draw continues Manchester City’s record of seeing relatively easy opponents in Round of 16 matches.

FC Copenhagen and PSG are two of the teams which qualify for this stage with the fewest points (8). Notably, the Premier League team has previously drawn seemingly easy opponents in the Round of 16. One would question what is going on here.

Why does Pep Guardiola seem to attract easy opponents?

The solution is straightforward. The UEFA Champions League draw is a random event over which no one has any control, and Manchester City is simply lucky. Another factor is that Pep Guardiola’s team has frequently finished first in their group. It considerably boosts their odds of facing a less powerful opponent.

In the 2016/17 season, City finished second in their group and faced French side AS Monaco in the Round of 16. While many may argue that this was also an easy draw, AS Monaco was in excellent form that season. They won Ligue 1 and overcame Manchester City on away goals.

In addition, Manchester City finished first in their group in the 2019/20 season, despite facing the legendary Real Madrid. It demonstrates that Pep Guardiola’s team drawing an easy opponent can only be attributable to good fortune.

Manchester City has a lengthy history of playing against easy opponents

Let’s take a look at how this saying about Manchester City always having easy opponents began after Pep Guardiola took over as manager in 2016. In the 2015/16 season, the Citizens defeated Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv 3-0.

The following season, Manchester City was drawn to meet Swiss side Basel FC and won again, this time by a 5-2 margin. When Manchester City faced FC Schalke in the 2018/19 season, the trend continued. There’s no denying that Germany has a great history, but their form has dipped in recent years.

Pep Guardiola’s men beat Schalke 10-2 to demonstrate their superior form. In the 2020/21 season, Manchester City faced Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Round of 16. This encounter was no exception, with The Sky Blues cruising to a 4-0 victory.

Furthermore, Manchester City will face Sporting and RB Leipzig in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, respectively. City won 5-0 and 8-1 in both games. With FC Copenhagen as their next opponent, the pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.