Champions League
It is no exaggeration to say that this season’s Champions League has been like no other ever before.
The chaos that the football season has been thrown into by COVID-19 is best demonstrated by the fact that the competition resumes on August 7, the day before preliminaries for the 2020-21 tournament begin. By the time the 2019-20 final takes place on August 23, no less than 20 teams will already have been sent packing and knocked out of next year’s tournament.
Once this season’s four outstanding last-16 games have been settled, the remaining eight sides will all head to Lisbon for a mini-tournament of straight knockout games to decide the 2020 champions.
Those games will, of course, be played behind closed doors, but despite the lack of any travelling support, Portugal’s close proximity to Spain may well be seen as advantageous by La Liga sides.
Having knocked out holders Liverpool in the previous round with a dramatic goal from Alvaro Morata in time added on at the end of extra time, Atletico Madrid will be confident of making a big impression. Finalists in 2014 and 2016, Atleti will hope that a return to Lisbon will inspire Joao Felix, who has often looked weighed down by expectation since his € 126 million move from Benfica a year ago.
They will also draw confidence from the absence of their quarter-final opponents’ most dangerous attacker, with Timo Werner having played his last game for RB Leipzig ahead of his move to Chelsea. The Bundesliga side were highly impressive in their dismantling of
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Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham in the last round, but repeating the trick without their all-time top goalscorer will be difficult.
Barcelona will expect to join Atletico in the quarter-finals when they resume their last-16 tie at home to Napoli, with whom they drew1-1 in Italy. If they are successful, they will most likely face Bayern Munich, after the Germans’ convincing 3-0 first-leg victory over Chelsea. Crowned Bundesliga champions for an eighth successive season in June, Bayern are unbeaten in 2020 under coach Hansi Flick, and are on the hunt for a sixth Champions League title.
Spain’s other remaining side, Real Madrid, face a far harder assignment after losing 2-1 at home to Manchester City. City came from behind in Madrid to win with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne, and Real’s cause isn’t going to be helped by the suspension of Sergio Ramos following his red card in the first game. City, on the other hand have produced some scintillating football since the resumption of the Premier League – particularly in the 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool – and will be buoyed by the lifting of their ban from next season’s competition. Pep Guardiola will surely feel that this is his time, nine years on from his last Champions League trophy.
Also trailing from the first leg are Juventus, who lost1-0 in Lyon, but the Italians will back themselves to overturn the deficit inside their own stadium, just as they did against Atletico Madrid at the same stage last season. Juve midfielder Miralem Pjanic will be available for selection, despite his agreed move to Barcelona (with Arthur going the other way), although it remains to be seen what will happen if the two sides meet in the semi-finals.
One player who won’t be taking part is Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, after the striker decided to turn down a contract extension in order to look for a new club. The star-studded French champions shouldn’t be short of goals, particularly lining up against the leakiest defence left in the competition, but they can’t afford to take Atalanta lightly. An incredible 8-4 aggregate victory over Valencia took the Italians into the quarter-finals in their debut Champions League campaign, and the revised structure of the tournament could well suit the underdogs. In a one-off game, they’re a match for anybody.
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In a one-off game, Atalanta are a match for anybody