Recently, the biggest clubs in the world learned their path to the Champions League trophy, as the group stage draw took place in Monaco. As Matchday 1 is set for Sept. 18 and 19, this blog will preview some of the storylines that will fuel the competition.
The Draw
In order to fairly distribute teams into "equal" groups, a seeded draw has taken place. The completed draw is shown below. The significant thing to note here is the descending order of the teams in their groups. Teams at the top of their groups were seeded the highest, in Pot 1, while the teams at the bottom were in Pot 4. Without playing a game, those teams from Pot 1 will likely be looked at as the favorites, while those from Pot 4 massive underdogs. However, this is not always the case.
The Groups of Death
In tournaments, certain groups always turn out to be tougher than others. Some groups have three or four teams that are "good enough" to play in the Last 16. However, there are always only two spots up for grabs from each group. These groups are defined as 'Groups of Death'.
Group A
Interestingly, none of the four teams in the group played in the Round of 16 in last years' tournament. However, these teams all have massive history in the Champions League. After a massive disappointment two seasons ago, Borussia Dortmund have returned to the competition. Dortmund has won the German top flight eight times, most recently in 2011-2012. They won the Champions League in 1997. Boasting exciting young talent like American Christian Pulisic, the team loves to go forward and attack.
This style will completely contradict the style of Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid. Atletico are stout defensive team, lead by goalkeeper Jan Oblak. The Slovenian international has shattered records, recording 21 clean sheets in 34 La Liga appearance in 2017-2018. Atletico Madrid won the Europa League last season, earning an automatic berth to the Champions League this season. The season before, Atletico finished runner-up in the Champions League to regional rivals Real Madrid. It took a penalty shootout to dispatch them.
Monaco is the third team that will compete for a spot in the R16. Over the past decade, Monaco has become a competitor on the national stage, after a large influx of funds. The French side produces and sells on many young players; such as Kylian Mbappe, Bejamin Mendy, and others. They now challenge traditional French powerhouse PSG for the domestic title yearly. Club Brugge may have a tough time hanging with the fire power in this group. The Belgian champs will do well to compete for 3rd place and a Europa League spot. However, as the Belgian league is known for the development of young and promising stars, this young and hungry team plays its part in making the group difficult top to bottom.
Group B
Group B is really the only group in the competition that one can look at and see four teams that could play in a R16 tie and have a realistic shot of advancing. Thus, this is the toughest group, in my opinion.
The group is headlined by five-time Champions League winners, Barcelona. The star-studded squad includes Lionel Messi, the 3rd leading goalscorer in Champions League history (100). However, the Spanish giants' road to advance will be all but easy, as they must face off against three reinvigorated teams.
Tottenham Hotspur, lead by academy graduate and pure goalscorer Harry Kane, will probably be tipped by many to finish 2nd in the group. After making headlines as the only team in Europe's 'Top 5' leagues not to bring in a single player during the summer transfer window, it is clear that manager Mauricio Pochettino is happy with his current squad. And for good reason. In addition to Kane, the squad boasts other England internationals: Dele Alli, Eric Dier, and Kieran Trippier. They employ the services of World Cup standout Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) and World Cup winner Hugo Lloris between the posts (France).
The two wildcards in this group are The Netherland's PSV Eindhoven and Italy's Inter Milan. Both of these clubs have won the competition in the past, as recently as Inter's success in 2010. However, both teams have recently struggled to regain their form on the world's biggest stage.
The young PSV team is eager to make an impact after winning their domestic league last season. Inter Milan, with countless full internationals on their books, has the experience needed to make a run in this competition. If PSV and Inter both play to their highest potential during the Group Stage, this group will truly be too difficult to predict.
The Group of Life--Group D
While no group in the Champions League is easy, some teams always fair better in the draw than others. This season, every team in Group D will have their eyes set on the Round of 16. Somehow, despite the seeding system, this group appears to very evenly matched.
While this is an immense opportunity for these teams, some fans are less than thrilled. Some people see this group as underwhelming, believing that none of these four teams will be able to compete in the R16.
The likely cause of this "weak" group is the inclusion of Lokomotiv Moscow in Pot 1. UEFA has elected to include the champions of Russia in Pot 1, and Lokomotiv surged to a shock title win last season. Thus, they surpassed previous Russian powerhouse clubs CSKA and Zenit, and found themselves as a seeded team. They are joined in the group by Portuguese and Turkish champions Porto and Galatasaray, as well as German side Schalke 04.
Despite being in Pot 2, Porto may well be the favorites to win the group, as they were the only team from this group to compete in the Champions League last season. Although missing out last year, both Galatasaray and Schalke have history in this competition. Galatasaray probably have the best chance of any team drawn out of Pot 4 to advance. It was obvious that Galatasaray's higher-ups were delighted with the draw, as their representatives in Monaco could not contain their joy when their team was drawn. Whether this is a statement on how weak the group is, that is for you to decide.
All football fans' eyes will be on the tournament as it starts in about two weeks. In my next blog post, I will highlights teams and players to watch, and make my predictions for the group stages.
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