Star players
Robert Lewandowski
While the Germans have welcomed Mane into their ranks, the Senegalese replaces the second-highest goalscorer in Bayern’s history, Lewandowski. The Poland international will be eager to show it was Bayern that needed him and not the other way around, and will have the perfect opportunity to do that when his new club, Barcelona, face the Bavarians on 13 September and 26 October. His record in the Champions League is impeccable, with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi bettering his 86 strikes. In the 2021/22 campaign, the Warsaw native scored 13 times in 10 matches, and will be looking for a similar return this season as Barca look to capture their first UCL title in eight years. Lewandowski’s aspirations of finally winning the Ballon d’Or will also get a boost if he helps the Blaugrana to a sixth European title.
Karim Benzema
The man many believe will win this year’s Golden Ball is Karim Benzema, and with the 35-year-old taking home the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Player of the Season award last week, his first Ballon d’Or could follow after what was an amazing campaign with Los Blancos. He is one of those forwards whose game is not solely premised on goals, and his extraordinary link-up play could be seen on full display last season in the way he dovetailed with Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric to
help Los Blancos capture the LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and UCL titles. Benzema will also be keen to show that the previous season’s brilliance was no fluke, with his 15 goals in the Champions League being the jointthird most strikes scored in a single campaign.
Victor Osimhen
Unlike Lewandowski and Benzema, Osimhen is a novice in Europe’s premier club competition. The Nigerian has only played in the tournament once before, at the age of 21, but two seasons removed from his inaugural showing, the Napoli star has evolved into one of the most sought-after strikers in football. He seems to only get better every year, and despite the difficulty Ajax Amsterdam, Liverpool, and Rangers will pose in Group A, he will be eager to justify why Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has placed a €100 million (R1.6 billion) price tag on him. His record in European competition is also impressive given his youth, with six goals in 13 matches in the Europa League and the UCL, and more can be expected if his start to the Serie A season – two goals and one assist in three games – is anything to go by.