The Champions League group stage is underway, with Chelsea defending their title and 31 other clubs seeking to emulate them come May in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Following an exciting first round of games, we asked James Olley, Julien Laurens and Tom Hamilton to answer some big questions.
What caught your attention on Matchday 1?
Ollie: Hitting the ground while running uphill. Manchester United may have lost, but Cristiano Ronaldo continued his goal-scoring form in a 2-1 defeat at the Young Boys on Tuesday, before Romelu Lukaku and Robert Lewandowski followed suit later that night. Chelsea needed Lukaku's header in the 69th minute to overtake a spirited Zenit St Petersburg side, while Lewandowski netted a brace in an easy Bayern Munich win at Barcelona. Wednesday was seen more with Mohamed Salah scoring for Liverpool, Erling Haaland finding the net for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City's £100m summer signing, Jack Grealish getting his way into the competition with a fine strike against RB Leipzig. Started it. Jules might have to wait for Paris Saint-Germain's "MNM" strike force to join the party, but otherwise it felt like business as usual, which, on a broader note, made me realize how quickly people forget. go.
Five months ago, 12 teams trying to form a European Super League put the very existence of the Champions League in jeopardy. But after that project collapsed, many of them launched just another campaign for the Champions League title, which their earlier actions sought to devalue. In fact, just last week Barcelona president Joan Laporta claimed that the Super League is "not dead yet" with Real Madrid and Juventus still to give up on the idea of some form of revival. The players were unfazed, of course, as we've seen several major stars deliver an exciting week of action, but while something isn't quite right about the many teams participating in a competition, they're still actively involved. plotting to destroy.
Laurens: It must be "MNM" who is finally making his much-anticipated debut for PSG in Belgium against Club Brugge. On paper, the magical trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is delicious and has everything to become one of the best ever. They will need a little time, and we saw on Wednesday night that they just weren't ready: Messi and Neymar are not perfect match-fit, with Mbappe getting out early in the second half with a minor injury. They tried to combine and we can see that it shouldn't take much time for them to click properly. However, we also saw an unbalanced PSG team at times, where the front three didn't defend and really exposed their midfield and defense.
This PSG is a work in progress and they are probably lucky enough to have got a point in Belgium as Brugge put them under real pressure. Mauricio Pochettino must find the right formula to make the "MNM" trio and the rest of the team a force to be reckoned with. At least he has two more weeks to work and improve before facing Pep Guardiola and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes.
Hamilton: There were several box-office moments in a remarkable first round, but there were two standout factors for me. First of all, how wonderful it is to have fans back. I know it's a phrase that's been said over and over again this season, but you really felt the impact in the Champions League. The Young Boys loyalist created a lightning atmosphere at Wankdorf Stadium for their win over Manchester United, while at Anfield, Liverpool concluded their vocal home support to start at 100 mph against AC Milan. And in Bruges he made a wonderfully claustrophobic welcome for PSG at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
But another thing that stood out was the goalkeeping in the show. There were some notable stops from experienced Champions League keepers such as Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen - who made two brilliant first-half saves to negate Bayern's Leroy Sane - while Milan's Mike Magnon's Salah's penalty and Andy Robertson's double Avoid serving. The follow-up was special. In Malmö, their keeper Ismail Diarra did a brilliant job to keep Juventus at bay in the second half, but if you're looking for the best to save the bunch, Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel hit Besiktas' Michi to stop Besiktas' Michi. Took an incredible reflex stop. The German side's 2-1 victory in Turkey prevented Batsuyai from scoring in the first half. While there were some defending suspects on the day of the first match, the standard of goalkeeping was through the roof.
Which big clubs have their work cut out to reach the knockout rounds?
Hamilton: Barcelona were widely beaten against Bayern Munich. Losing to the defending Bundesliga champions is no embarrassment, but for a club of Barcelona's hopes - despite the turmoil of their summer - their opening performance in Group E was disappointing. For the first time in their Champions League history, they went through the entire match without recording a single shot on goal, and a humble 3–0 defeat could have been far more one-sided but for Ter Stegen's performance in goal. Wherever you looked with this Barca side, there were question marks, from their lack of firepower and creativity to their meek defence, where Eric Garcia's decision to turn his back on Thomas Muller's ambitious first-half effort was a costly call. Proved.
Barca loyalists are growing restless, and have even booed their own Sergi Roberto. "I want to remind people that he is a midfielder, not a winger," Gerard Pique later said while defending his teammate. "He has made sacrifices to adapt to that situation on the pitch. People are free to express themselves but I don't like whistles, they don't help. I know the person, he's a wonderful person and He wants more than anything for this club to succeed. I am deeply hurt by that."
Ole: No one will panic after a game, but Barca's defeat underscores the magnitude of the task for the Catalan to remain competitive at this level after the recent turmoil. Tom explained that in fine detail so I'll highlight Manchester United instead. It will still be a setback if they don't progress, but a loss to the Young Boys puts them on the backfoot in Group F, although Villarreal and Atalanta play down some of the damage in a 2–2 draw in Spain.
But questions were inevitably raised about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tactical skills as United were overwhelmed after Aaron Wan-Bissaka's 35th-minute red card. United were completely over in midfield, an issue Solskjaer should have addressed sooner despite the numerical loss, but at least the fixture list provides an opportune moment for redemption. Villarreal will visit Old Trafford four months after defeating United on penalties in last season's Europa League final. Unai Emery is the master of that competition but United failed to take their chances that night as they climbed. They really can't afford to repeat.
Laurens: I think, despite their draw in Belgium, PSG will pass, but it will not be easy. Although I am a little worried about Atletico Madrid. They were again disappointing in this competition, drawing a 0–0 home draw against Porto on Wednesday, as they did against Lokomotiv Moscow last season. They could not actually beat the Russian side (1-1) in the reverse fixture. They will now have to play AC Milan and Liverpool twice, which means they could find themselves in bad shape before facing Porto again in Portugal on match day 6 in December.
Despite all the attacking power (Luis Suárez, Antoine Griezmann, ngel Correa, Joo Felix, Yannick Carrasco, Thomas Lemar), they still struggle to create chances and score goals. He has scored only four goals in his last seven Champions League games, with no goals in each of his last three. With Diego Simeone, we are never too far from the last six we saw against Chelsea in the 16th leg of last season and I don't think it's good enough for such a talented team. Simeone will have to find a way to make this work, because otherwise the Spanish champions in this difficult and dangerous group could be in trouble.
The most exciting player, age 21 or under, in this season's competition is:
LAWRENCE: We have an incredible group of 18-year-old prodigy talents, more than we ever have. Pedri, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Giovanni Reyna, Jamal Musciola, Harvey Elliott, Benjamin Cesco, Ilex Moriba are all still 18, as are Ryan Cherki and Florian Wirtz playing Europa League football this season. Ryan Gravenberch has turned 19 like Ilya Zbarny, Karim Adeyemi and Nuno Mendes while Anu Fati (18) still hasn't returned from his horrific injury.
So there is a lot to choose from but for me there can only be one winner and that is Bellingham. He was sensational against Besiktas on Wednesday. He is getting better and better week by week. Marco Rose will help him develop and indeed the sky is the limit for the England international who is as mature as he is gifted.
HAMILTON: Jules did a good job of picking some of the best young talent, but for me three were out of the first batch of games. Musiella was immense for Bayern Munich and Barcelona's defense was on a piece of string. And I would have gone here to Bellingham after his incredible performance against Besiktas, where he controlled every aspect of the game, and even scored his opener.
But in the interest of diversity, I'd go for Salzburg's Karim Ademi. The young striker was excellent against Sevilla and caused them all kinds of problems. He's a tricky, elusive type of attacker who can also play on the flanks, and his high-octane brand of busy football saw him win three penalties in the first half against the LaLiga side. Salzburg have a good record of seeing their top young talent impress in the Champions League since first qualifying three years ago and then earning big. We saw Haaland bang in the 2019-20 campaign, while Dominic Soboszlai excelled last stint, and it looks to be Ademi's year this time around.
Ole: No prize for originality here, but it should be given the wider context to Haaland. The 21-year-old has a release clause of around €75m that goes into effect next summer, which is likely to trigger what is the mother of all transfer scrambles for his signing. There is already little doubt about his quality given a staggering goalscoring record for Dortmund – he scored his 66th goal in 66 matches on Wednesday, his 21st in 17 Champions League matches – but another argument in Germany- A lackluster season will only strengthen their position. As the best young player in world football.
Chelsea were keen before signing Lukaku, but Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are only four of the clubs with serious interest in Hollande next year. Agent Mino Raiola took all the aces. The most unpleasant aspect of any deal is likely to be the exorbitant fees Raiola could charge, but Haaland's continuation of his remarkable numbers will surely convince at least one club that he is worth every penny.
In the Champions League era, which was the best team not to win it?
Lawrence: Arsenal "Invincible." No debate. It is one of the greatest teams to have ever played the game, one of the greatest teams ever assembled, and 2003–04 was/should have been their year in the Champions League, just like the Premier League. It was his year in 2008, where he won the title. Going unbeaten throughout the season. It was the right timing, as historically none of the big European clubs were very good. The semifinals were Chelsea v Monaco and Porto v Deportivo La Corua, and it was won by Jose Mourinho's Porto.
The Gunners were knocked out by Chelsea in a dramatic quarterfinal second leg at Highbury. After a 1–1 draw at Stamford Bridge, they managed to lose a 1–0 lead at home and were eliminated in a 2–1 draw. Maybe they were too confident going forward, maybe Arsene Wenger could have managed the game differently. In the end, a team with Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp should have got their hands on the Champions League trophy.
Hamilton: There are some stories of Spanish sides that should have won the Champions League, such as Real Madrid's Galactico (2000–2006), Atletico Madrid's 2013–14 side, perhaps the later stages of Johan Cruyff's Barcelona stint (1993–96). , but that illustrious Valencia side from 1999-2001 had two chances to become champions of Europe and lost both.
Santiago Canizares, Manuel Pellegrino, Joseline Angloma and Gerardo were at the back of goals in the team that lost the 2000 final to Real Madrid, with Kylie González and Gerard Gazaca Mendieta running the show from midfield. Then in front were Claudio López and Miguel Angulo. That year they had already been in a knockout for Barcelona and then Serie A champions Lazio, only to lose 3–0 to Los Blancos in the final. The following season saw Pablo Aimar, Robert Ayala, Diego Alonso, and John Carew all added to the mix and went on another run in the final, knocking out Arsenal and Leeds only to lose to Bayern Munich on penalties. That era under Hector Kuiper was a missed opportunity and although they would win the UEFA Cup and LaLiga under Rafa BenÃtez in 2003–04, the Champions League remains elusive.
Ole: All good selections above, but if Manchester City don't win the Champions League under Pep Guardiola his time in England will be forever incomplete. The City of Guardiola has already made it into one of the Premier League's greats, securing three titles in four seasons with some of the best football England have ever played. Yet the Champions League stays away from them. Three consecutive quarterfinal defeats - often characterized by awkward tactical turns where Guardiola almost complicates his approach - preceded a run in last season's final where he followed Thomas Tuchel on the crest of a wave against a Chelsea team. were unable to perform at their best. Arrival.
The lack of signing Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane this summer leaves a clear hole in City's squad, but they still have a raft of long-serving players - Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho - who deserve a Champions League medal for their efforts in recent years. And even without Kane, they are once again among the favorites, given the financial impact of COVID-19 pushing the needle even further toward the richest.