Below is a piece highlighting 5 major lessons learnt from the Monday UEFA Champions League draw.
1. Are the draws rigged?
So we get Arsenal vs Bayern Munich & Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona ties again. Yawn. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. Just the same old games every year. One wonders if there is someone at UEFA that enjoys seeing those clubs face each other annually.
2. Easy ties for Real Madrid and Manchester City?
The consensus is that Real Madrid and Manchester City got easy ties. Maybe you should take a moment and look at their opponents. Madrid will take on Napoli, who aren’t doing badly in Serie A and City, who are a bit lukewarm under Pep Guardiola, have to get rid of Monaco.
3. Don’t sleep on these fixtures!
Look away from those big fixtures. There are some great little matches to keep an eye on. Like Sevilla against Leicester City. It will be interesting to see how the perennial Europa League winner fare against the Premier League champions, who apparently more keen on the continent. Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid will be a game of intensity and hard pressing.
4. Which teams will qualify?
I’ll stick my neck out for Real Madrid, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Juventus, Leicester City and Barcelona.
5. No clear favourite
Forget all the hype. There is no team in the Champions League that is in great form. So on Match Day, it will all come down to the fine details. Some of these fixtures have been labelled ‘tough’, purely based on past glory. February 2017 cannot come too quickly.
‘Ifreke Inyang tweets via @Ifreke
1. Are the draws rigged?
So we get Arsenal vs Bayern Munich & Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona ties again. Yawn. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. Just the same old games every year. One wonders if there is someone at UEFA that enjoys seeing those clubs face each other annually.
2. Easy ties for Real Madrid and Manchester City?
The consensus is that Real Madrid and Manchester City got easy ties. Maybe you should take a moment and look at their opponents. Madrid will take on Napoli, who aren’t doing badly in Serie A and City, who are a bit lukewarm under Pep Guardiola, have to get rid of Monaco.
3. Don’t sleep on these fixtures!
Look away from those big fixtures. There are some great little matches to keep an eye on. Like Sevilla against Leicester City. It will be interesting to see how the perennial Europa League winner fare against the Premier League champions, who apparently more keen on the continent. Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid will be a game of intensity and hard pressing.
4. Which teams will qualify?
I’ll stick my neck out for Real Madrid, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Juventus, Leicester City and Barcelona.
5. No clear favourite
Forget all the hype. There is no team in the Champions League that is in great form. So on Match Day, it will all come down to the fine details. Some of these fixtures have been labelled ‘tough’, purely based on past glory. February 2017 cannot come too quickly.
‘Ifreke Inyang tweets via @Ifreke
