‘There were 35 goals scored in the Champions League today’
16 Likes
Ajax this season:
10 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
43 goals scored, 3 conceded
Top of the league
Top of their UCL group
Sebastien Haller UCL top scorer (6)
9 Likes
Tonight on the Champions League menu:
Barcelona v Dynamo Kyiv
Benfica v Bayern Munich
Man Utd v Atalanta
Young Boys v Villarreal
Salzburg v Wolfsburg
Lille v Sevilla
Chelsea v Malmo
Zenit v Juventus
10 Likes
Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev
In the Champions League, Barcelona has been terrible. It was inevitable that Barcelona would lose 3-0 to Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, but a 3-0 defeat to Benfica was not in the cards. During the previous matchday, the Portuguese side dominated and dismantled Ronald Koeman’s team.
They have no points entering into Matchday 3, therefore Koeman will be looking to get all three points against Dynamo Kyiv, or their chances of qualifying for the next round may be dismal. Similarly, playing in the Europa League will be disastrous at best, and playing no European football at all will be equally disastrous.
Their visitors, Dynamo Kyiv, are searching for their first victory of this Champions League campaign. Having drawn against Benfica on the first matchday, they were thoroughly routed by Bayern Munich 5-1 in the next game. They sit one point over their opponents Barcelona in the third courtesy of the single point earned.
10 Likes
Barcelona Team News
Ousmane Dembele’s recuperation is progressing, but he may not be risked in this match. Ansu Fati scored against Valencia on Saturday and is expected to start this encounter.
During the international break, Ronald Araujo sustained an injury and is no longer available for selection. Eric Garcia, who was sent off against Benfica last month, will miss this match.
Pedri, Martin Braithwaite, and Ronald Araujo are all injured.
8 Likes
Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev Key Stats
-
Barcelona have failed to win their last five matches in the Champions League.
-
Barcelona have won their previous four matches against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.
-
Barcelona have scored at least two goals in those last four games against Dynamo Kyiv.
-
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Barcelona’s last nine games in the Champions League.
-
Barcelona are yet to score a goal or collect a point in this season’s Champions League while conceding six strikes in their first two games.
8 Likes
Manchester United vs Atalanta
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team have only won one of their last five games in all competitions, a late-gasp 2-1 success over Villarreal in the Champions League. Following that, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton before being thrashed 4-2 by Leicester City this past weekend.
After losing their debut match in Europe to Young Boys, the Red Devils are currently third in the group and will need to start picking up wins if they are to advance to the knockout stages.
Atalanta are unbeaten in the Champions League so far, having battled to a 2-2 draw with Villarreal on matchday one before defeating Young Boys 1-0 the last time out. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side leads Group F with four points from two games and can extend their lead with a win at Old Trafford, while dealing a severe damage to their opponents’ chances of progressing.
5 Likes
Man United vs Atalanta team news
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is available for European selection again following an appeal to UEFA which led to his three-game suspension being reduced to two.
South American pair Fred and Edinson Cavani, meanwhile, could also feature after having missed the recent loss to Leicester following their involvements for Brazil and Uruguay respectively over the international break.
Harry Maguire may be in line for a rest having been rushed back for Saturday’s loss, potentially pairing Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof together.
5 Likes
Manchester United and Atalanta have never faced in any competition previously, with La Dea the seventh different Italian team the Red Devils have faced in Europe (also Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Milan and Roma).
6 Likes
Atalanta have won three of their six UEFA European matches against English opponents (D1 L2), beating Everton twice in the 2017-18 Europa League and away at Liverpool in November 2020 in the Champions League.
7 Likes
Manchester United have won six of their last seven home games in the UEFA Champions League against Italian opponents, however the most recent of these was a 0-1 defeat to Juventus in October 2018 under José Mourinho.
7 Likes
Atalanta are one of two teams in major UEFA European competition history to have played more than one away game against English opponents and won more than half of their games (67% - 2/3) - the other is Berliner FC Dynamo, who also won two of their three games (L1): against reigning European Cup champions Nottingham Forest in 1979-80 and Aston Villa in the European Cup in 1981-82, who would go on and win the trophy that season.
8 Likes
Since making his first UEFA Champions League appearance for Manchester United in October 2020, Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in more goals in the competition than any other player for the club (7 - four goals and three assists). Overall, no midfielder has been directly involved in more than Fernandes in the UEFA Champions League in this period.
7 Likes
Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 18 goals in 23 UEFA Champions League appearances against Italian sides, only scoring more against German opponents (28 goals). This is his first appearance in the competition against an Italian side since April 2018, when his last minute penalty for Real Madrid against future side Juventus took them through to the semi-finals on aggregate.
8 Likes
Chelsea vs Malmo
Chelsea has had a shaky start to its UEFA Champions League defense, narrowly defeating Zenit St Petersburg on Matchday 1 before losing 1-0 to Juventus on Matchday 2. The Blues have done considerably better at home, as they currently sit atop the Premier League table, although they were not in the best of form this past weekend, even though they beat Brentford 1-0.
Malmo, on the other hand, has been a disappointment in Group H of the UEFA Champions League, having lost both of their first two games and conceding seven goals without reply. Di Blae, like Chelsea, has been in excellent form in their league, and they currently lead the Allsvenskan standings.
Chelsea have won each of the two games wherein they have locked horns with Malmo, scoring five goals while conceding just once en route to winning the UEFA Europa League back in 2019.
9 Likes
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea’s defensive options have been bolstered by the additions of Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger ahead of their Champions League match against Malmo on Wednesday.
The centre-backs were both back in training on Monday after missing Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win against Brentford. Silva, an experienced centre-back, returned from Brazil on Friday afternoon, giving the 37-year-old with little time to prepare for the Brentford trip.
Rudiger, a defender for Germany, suffered a slight back injury while on national team duty and was forced to miss the Blues’ hard-fought victory on the road.
6 Likes
Chelsea and Malmö FF faced in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League in 2018-19, with the English side winning both games and 5-1 on aggregate (2-1 away, 3-0 home).
10 Likes
Chelsea have never lost against a Swedish side in UEFA European competition (W3 D3), avoiding defeat against Åtvidabergs FF in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971-72 (D2), Helsingborgs IF in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998-99 (W1 D1) and Malmö in the Europa League in 2018-19 (W2).
10 Likes
This is the first meeting between English and Swedish teams in the UEFA Champions League since the first group stage in 1999-00, when Arsenal played AIK and beat them twice. Malmö’s only previous meeting in the European Cup with an English team was in the 1979 final, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in Munich.
11 Likes