2020/21 UEFA Champions League - Group Stage Match Day Reviews

[Yash]

Its Champions league time again. The 2020/21 season will be held in Nyon, Switzerland with 32 of the best football teams in Europe fighting for the title of the best in Europe. The UCL groups draw will feature 12 former winners and four newcomers on European football’s biggest club stage.

Here is the Complete Draw

Group A - Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow
Group B - Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Mnchengladbach
Group C - Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Marseille
Group D - Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, Midtjylland
Group E - Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes
Group F - Zenit St. Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Brugge
Group G - Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv, Ferencvros
Group H - Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Baakehir

[Animesh]

UEFA Champions League action is all set to kick off tonight with the group stage of Europe’s biggest club completion.

[Yash]

Europe’s Premier competition kicks off with the Group Stage tonight. In a quest for finding Europe’s next Champion the premier competition has introduced some regulations in the light of the ‘new normal’ that the world is facing.

Matches tonight

Zenith vs Club Brugge

Dynamo Kiev vs Juventus

RB Leipzig vs Istanbul Basaksehir

Rennes vs Krasnodar

Lazio vs Dortmund

Chelsea vs Sevilla

Manchester United vs PSG

Barcelona vs Ferencvaros

Who do you think will win? Post your predictions here

[Aman]

Key matches:

Man Utd vs PSG
Lazio vs Dortmund

[Amit]

Chelsea vs Sevilla

Chelsea have spent heavily in the transfer market and will hope that their investment translates into success and Champions League performance will be high on Roman Abramovich’s seasonal assessment.

Sevilla, on the other hand, will hope that they can finally replicate their Europa League pedigree in the Champions League after yet another Europa league success. With both teams having a point to prove, one can expect a cracker of a contest when they face off at Stamford Bridge.

[Subrat]

PSG vs Man United

The match will take place at Parc des Princes in Paris.

After a heartbreaking defeat in the 2019-20 Champions League final, PSG are set to play their first group-stage fixture against Man United.

The last time these two teams faced off in the Champions League, Marcus Rashford scored a stoppage-time penalty to complete an epic comeback away from home. However, a lot has changed since that fixture, with PSG now entering the tournament as beaten finalists and overwhelming favourites for the competition.

[Varshith]

Lazio vs Borussia Dortmund

It will be the first time Lazio have taken part in the Champions League group stage since the 2007-08 season. Ciro Immobile, the club’s hero who won the European Golden Shoe last season with an astonishing 36 league goals will look to play some good football for the Lazio fans that will arise some hope. They are 13th on the Serie A Table and were crumbled to a 3-0 loss against Sampdoria on Saturday.

Lazio possible starting lineup:
Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Hoedt; Parolo, Leiva, Milinkovic-Savic, Alberto, Marusic; Immobile, Correa

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki; Can, Hummels, Akanji; Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Guerreiro; Sancho, Reus; Haaland

Barcelona vs Ferencvaros

A revamped FC Barcelona with Ronald Koeman at the helm will kick start this season’s campaign against the two-time defending Hungarian champions Ferencvarosi TC. After their last 8-2 humiliation in the Champions League, Barca would look to start fresh under the new manager with a new style of play.

They are however coming from a 0-1 home defeat to Getafe on Saturday. This might well be the last season Messi plays for Barcelona in the Champions League. Ferencvaros, on the other hand are making a Champions League group stage appearance for the first time after 25 years.

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Neto; Dest, Araujo, Lenglet, Firpo; Pjanic, De Jong; Trincão, Coutinho, Ansu Fati; Messi

Ferencváros (4-3-3): Dibusz; Lovrencsics, Blažič, Kovačević, Ćivić; Sigér, Kharatin, Somália; Zubkov, Isael, Nguen

[Shashank]

UEFA Champions League - Tuesday Fixture results

• Sweet 16 for Lionel Messi - Messi has extended his run of scoring at least one goal in the competition in 16 consecutive seasons in the UEFA Champions League as he scored his 116th goal in FC Barcelona’s 5-1 win against Hungarian team Ferencvaros.
• Juventus coped well with the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo due to the coronavirus.
• Lazio defeated Borussia Dortmund

[Yash]

After some big matches yesterday, Day 2 of the Group stage promises to be yet another mayhem altogether. Real Madrid who have won the Champions League for a record number of 13 times will begin their campaign against Shakhtar Donetsk. Ajax the 2018 fairytale semi-finalists will lock horns against Premier League Champions Liverpool. Bayern Munich the reigning Champions League winners will go against Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

Key Matches Preview

Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid

Simeone’s side will head into this game with a rugged determination as they look to clinch a maiden UCL title. Bayern Munich clinched their sixth European title last season with a victory against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the final. The Bavarians continued their fine form with a victory in the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla. Hansi Flick’s men sit second in the Bundesliga standings with nine points this season.

Meanwhile, the Champions League has been a distant dream for Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone. His side came close to clinching the title on two occasions but were defeated by city rivals Real Madrid in both finals. LaLiga-wise, Los Rojiblancos sit eighth in the table with two victories and an equal number of defeats. Atletico has always been a high pressing team against top contenders. With Suarez in the offence, anything can happen in this game

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Before the El Clasico, Madrid host the Ukrainian team at Santiago. Casemiro and Mendy are expected to return to Real Madrid’s starting lineup after the loss against Cadiz and Militao should be the one replacing Ramos in the center of the defensive line. After dominating the competition with three consecutive titles, Los Blancos have failed to go past the Round of 16 stage of the competition in the last two years.

Madrid have the quality to beat Shakhtar but the same could’ve been said about their match against Cadiz, so it will be important for Los Blancos to take care of business given that the away games in this Group Stage will be tough

[Animesh]

Tonight’s Fixtures

[Amit]

Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Injured Sergio Ramos is out of Real Madrid’s opening Champions League match against a Shakhtar Donetsk squad depleted by the coronavirus.

Zidane still wont be able to count on Eden Hazard because of a lingering muscle injury.

Other players not included in Madrid’s squad for Wednesday’s game because of injury include Dani Carvajal, Martin Odegaard and lvaro Odriozola.

Madrid, a 13-time Champions League winner, couldn’t get past the round of 16 in the last two seasons.

[Shashank]

Madrid’s 3-2 loss to a depleted Ukranian Champion Shakhtar Donetsk team was the most surprising result of Wednesday’s opening group games.

While Bayern delivered the most impressive performance with a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

It was a 3rd straight loss in the competition for Real Madrid - its worst run in 34 years. For defending champion Bayern, it was a 12th straight Champions League victory.

Romelu Lukaku scored in his 9th straight European game, including a 90th minute equalizer, to help Inter Milan draw 2-2 with Borussia MŮnchengladbach.

Wins for Liverpool and Manchester City capped a good round for English clubs, and Atalanta again showed its free-scoring style to win 4-0 at overmatched newcomer Midtjylland.

[Yash]

Juventus vs Barcelona - No Ronaldo-Messi Showdown

Juventus host Barcelona in Turin but the match will miss the most crucial battle, Ronaldo vs Messi. After leaving Real Madrid this would be the first meeting between the two superstars of this generation. But unfortunately it would be due in the 2nd leg as Cristiano Ronaldo has still not tested negative for Covid-19.

But, its still a fantastic fixture, two clubs who have dominated the domestic leagues and for the kind of histories the two clubs have tells us how big an occasion this is. Juventus are just not without Ronaldo they’ll miss Giorgio Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Alex Sandro as well.

Ronald Koeman should make sure to get the benefit of injury and win it comprehensively at Turin.

[Animesh]

Tonight Fixtures

[Yash]

Real Madrid vs Inter Milan

Real Madrid could face their first group stage knockout in 30 years if they lose tonight against Inter Milan. Both Real Madrid and Inter are looking for their first win, courtesy to a fantastic young Shakter side.

Real however look to be in a comfortable postion to win this game after their good domestic run. They are coming from a 4-1 win against Huesca. Inter are rebuilt the squad but tonight they will be without Lukaku. Conte’s experience will matter tonight against Zidane. This is a must-win for either side!

Prediction - Real Madrid 3-1 Inter Milan

[Jay]

November 1998…

When Inter & Real Madrid last met in the UCL:

Zamorano

Seedorf

Roberto Baggio

[Sumboywo]

REAL MADRID VS INTER MILAN:

Real Madrid are the 13-time European champions, the most successful team in the competition’s history, but currently sit bottom of Group B with just one point from their opening two games.

Zinedine Zidane’s side started the group with a defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk and were on course for back-to-back losses before late comeback earned them a point against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Inter haven’t fared much better either, currently third with two points. They opened the group with a 2-2 draw with Gladbach, mirroring Real Madrid’s result and were held away to Shakhtar last time out.

Both Real Madrid and Inter are still expected to qualify for the knockout stages and, given how close the group is, this meeting could go some way to deciding who finishes top.

HERE MY PERSONAL PREDICTION!

3-2!

WRITE DOWN YOURS.

[Jeff]

Yesterday’s UCL matches had massive 35 goals scored in total!

[Animesh]

Man City beat Olympiakos 3-0 to maintain 100% record in Champions League

Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo were on target as Manchester City made it 3 wins out of 3 in Champions League group C. City are 3 points clear of Porto at the top of the group, and a single point in the return fixture on Nov. 25 would secure progress for City to the knockout stage.

Real Madrid 3-2 Inter Milan

Real Madrid thwarted a second half comeback from Inter Milan to win 3-2 and give their Champions League bid lift-off in Group B. Madrid’s 19-year-old Brazilian Rodrygo came off the bench to score the winning cool finish in the 80th minute.

Sergio Ramos scored his 100th Real Madrid goal.

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Lokomotiv Moscow

Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Lokomotiv Moscow in their Champions League Group A match. Lokomotiv goalkeeper Guilherme pulled off a string of superb saves to keep the Russian side in the hunt for a spot in the round-of-16.

The result leaves Atletico 2nd in the group on 4 points from 3 games, 5 behind Bayern Munich after they cruised to a 6-2 victory over FC Salzburg. Lokomotiv have two points and Salzburg have one.

RB Salzburg 2-6 Bayern

Bayern make Champions League history with scoring rampage against Salzburg.

Bayern Munich became the first team in Champions League history to score four goals in the last 15 minutes of a game, thanks to goals from Jerome Boateng, Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski and Lucas Hernandez during the final 11 minutes.

Atalanta 0-5 Liverpool

In-form Diogo Jota scored a terrific hat-trick as Liverpool made a stunning win at Atalanta.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have won all 3 Group D games without conceding a goal, and victory in one of their remaining fixtures should be enough to take them through to the knockout stages.

Porto beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in Group C

Porto Hand Marseille 12th Straight UEFA Champions League Defeat. Marseille’s last win in UCL came in 2012, when they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

[Aman]

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