Man City's dream route to Champions League glory includes redemption chance and reunion

Manchester City secured their place in the top-eight of the Champions League on Wednesday night with a dramatic victory over Galatasaray

Manchester City avoided adding a dreaded two extra matches to their already stacked schedule thanks to a dramatic night of Champions League action on Wednesday. The Blues knew they needed to beat Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium and hope results went in their favour elsewhere.

While Chelsea, Sporting and Barcelona were all victorious in their respective matches, PSG and Newcastle United drew to give City hope of advancing to the knockouts automatically. But their position was eventually secured thanks to Benfica's 4-2 victory over nine-man Real Madrid with Jose Mourinho's side securing their play off place thanks to a last-minute header from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

City must now wait to see the outcome of the play offs before they can plan their route to Champions League glory. MEN Sport has taken a look at what the dream route to Budapest will look like for the Blues as well as the realistic but best scenario for Pep Guardiola's men.

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Round of 16

The Blues know their opponents in the round of 16 will be one of four opponents. Old foes Real Madrid, still smarting from the defeat on Wednesday could be on their path, as are the team that beat them Benfica.

City's 2023 Champions League final opponents Inter could also await them in the round of 16 as could the arguably more favourable opposition Bodo/Glimt. Guardiola would more than likely not want to return to the Arctic Circle but it would be the perfect shot at redemption for the Blues.

The Norwegian's beat Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to secure their slot in the play offs so they would fancy their chances against City but over two legs, they could be the 'safer' option.

Dream route - Bodo/Glimt

Best realistic route - Bodo/Glimt

Quarter-finals

If things really worked out for City, they would be delighted to face Olympiacos in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Greek club did beat Bayer Leverkusen and Ajax in their final two matches in the league phase so would not be push overs but statistically, they are the dream opponents to face in the last-eight.

However, the most realistic but best option for City would be to face Bayern Munich over two legs in the quarters. This match-up would see a reunion with Vincent Kompany at the Etihad Stadium.

If they were to advance in the quarter-finals, the draw would open up for the Blues from there onwards.

Dream route - Olympiacos

Best realistic route - Bayern Munich

Semi-finals

If City were to somehow face Qarabag in the semi-finals of the Champions League there would have been some major shocks taking place to get them there. The Azerbaijan club were thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool in the last matchday so City would fancy their chances.

More realistically, the opponents could be Chelsea in the last-four. Liam Rosenior's side remain an unknown quantity despite beating Napoli to secure their top-eight finish.

Dream route - Qarabag

Best realistic route - Chelsea

Final

Should City make it to the Puskas Arena for the final, no match will be easy. If Club Brugge were to make it all the way to Hungary, they would have beaten some of the world's best to get there but City would fancy their chances.

The best realistic option would be Sporting. They are flagging in their own league without Viktor Gyokeres but have still managed to produce the goods in the Champions League.

Dream route - Club Brugge

Best realistic route - Sporting