The Return of the Champions League
By Keegan Singh
The infectious energy, sound, and vibe of Europe’s most elite soccer tournament, the Champions League, has returned. Consisting of 24 of the biggest Soccer Clubs in Europe, the Champions League is the most sought after trophy in all of European Soccer. The reigning champions “Bayern Munich” from Germany have their work cut out to defend their title from teams who have improved over the offseason. Some of the favorites to win the tournament this year are Bayern Munich from Germany, Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain, Paris Saint-Germain from France, Juventus from Italy and Manchester City and Liverpool from England.
The 24 teams participating in the competition are split into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group proceed to the next stage of fixtures where the competition turns into a knockout tournament over the course of two Home and Away fixtures. Games are played every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from when there is a break from club games for International games to take place. The Champions League resumed last Tuesday and there have already been some surprising results that have taken place. The most surprising results that took place on the Tuesday fixtures were Manchester United defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Paris and also Lazio (from Italy) defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-1. It is very difficult to beat one of the top sides in Europe at their home ground, and that is exactly what Manchester United was able to do. Paris Saint-Germain, who have two of the best players in the world in Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, found themselves completely nullified by the defense and relentlessness of Manchester United’s midfield. A late goal by Marcus Rashford in the 87th minute saw Manchester United leave Paris with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over last season’s runner up. The match ended with Lazio defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-1. Dortmund is known as the second-best in Germany and one of the best young teams in Europe. For that reason, it was very shocking to see them lose 3-1 to a Lazio team who only had four shots on target on the night. Lazio managed to come out victorious after being the more clinical side on the night, converting four of the shots on target into 3 goals.
Bayern Munich looks to win the competition for the second time in a row. (Peter Kneffel/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The fixtures on Wednesday also provided viewers with some surprises. European powerhouses Real Madrid were defeated 3-2 at home by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Real found themselves 3-0 down at halftime after a woeful display in the first 45 minutes. Real managed to pull back two goals in the second half to reduce the deficit to 3-2, but they still came out as second-best on the night. Will this loss be hurtful to Real’s chances of progressing from the group? Only time will tell. The other surprising result of the night was Atletico Madrid’s (from Spain) hefty 4-0 loss to the reigning champions Bayern Munich. Atletico is known for their defensive style of playing and are considered one of the toughest sides to breakdown in European Soccer. This did not seem the case during this game. Bayern Munich looked unstoppable, and their performance shows why they have a great chance of winning the competition for the second time in a row. Two goals from Kingsley Coman and goals from Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso saw Bayern Munich embarrass Atletico Madrid. This outcome does a lot more for Bayern than it does for Atletico. It shows the other teams in the competition that Bayern is serious about defending their crown and that they will be extremely difficult to beat for the remainder of the tournament.
After the first round of fixtures, the standings look as follows:
Group A:
Bayern (3 points)
Lokomotiv Moscow (1 point)
RB Salzburg (1 point)
Atletico Madrid (0 points)
Group B:
Shakhtar Donetsk (3 points)
Borussia Monchengladbach (1 point)
Inter Milan (1 point)
Real Madrid (1 point)
Group C:
Manchester City (3 points)
Olympiacos (3 points)
Marseille (0 points)
Porto (0 Points)
Group D:
Atalanta (3 points)
Liverpool (3 points)
Ajax (0 points)
Midtjylland (0 Points)
Group E:
Krasnodar (1 point)
Rennes (1 point)
Sevilla (1 point)
Chelsea (1 point)
Group F:
Lazio (3 points)
Club Brugge (3 points)
Zenit (0 points)
Borussia Dortmund (0 points)
Group G:
Barcelona (3 points)
Juventus (3 points)
Dynamo Kyiv (0 points)
Ferencavaros (0 points)
Group H:
RB Leipzig (3 points)
Manchester United (3 points)
PSG (0 points)
Istanbul (0 points)
Some interesting games to keep an eye out for in the second round of fixtures are:
Manchester United vs RB Leipzig: These are two of the youngest teams in the tournament with some great individual talent. They are also both coming off of great wins and are battling for the top spot in the group. My prediction: Manchester United (2) RB Leipzig (0).
Atalanta vs Ajax: These are two underdog teams in the competition. Over the past two seasons in the Champions League, these two teams have defied expectations and reached further than people expected. They are extremely well-coached and play very entertaining soccer. My prediction: Atalanta (2) Ajax (2).
Barcelona vs Juventus: What would have been Messi vs Ronaldo isn’t the case because sadly, Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive for Covid-19. Still, this game will be highly entertaining with both teams having new coaches who are still figuring out the teams tactically. This game will either have a lot of goals or be a boring 0-0 draw. My prediction: Barcelona (4) Juventus (2).
Follow Keegan on Twitter @keegns