UEFA Champions League 2020/21
The UEFA Champions League last season had a strange finish because of the pandemic with Covid-19. UEFA Champions League did everything possible to start and run the 2020/21 season as generally as possible. Now, the first part of the competition is over, and we can say that it was terrific as always and that more is yet to come in the knockout phase. We saw many turnarounds, great goals, many surprises, and everything expected from European football champions.
UEFA Champions League 2020/21 Groups
As the current champions in group A, Bayern Munich easily won 1st place and proceeded to the knockout phase. Atletico Madrid finished 2nd with little trouble, while Salzburg qualified for the Europa League as they finished 3rd. Meanwhile, Lokomotiv Moscow was knocked out. Group B was perhaps the most interested and uncertain until the last round. All four teams had a chance to proceed. In the 6th round, Real Madrid easily won against B. Monchengladbach and got 1st place. Inter and Shakhtar played a draw, and both teams failed to proceed to the knockout phase. Shakhtar as 3rd will play in Europa League while Inter disappointed everyone and finished 4th. In group C Manchester City and Porto easily qualify for the next phase while Olympiakos will play in Europa League. Marseille finished 4th and managed to score only two goals in 6 matches. Group D was also very uncertain until the last round. Liverpool secured 1st place, and Atalanta and Ajax played 2nd place on Johan Cruijff Arena with a victory for Atalanta by 1:0. So, Ajax will continue in Europa League while Midtjylland was knocked out of European competitions. In the end, it looks like Chelsea and Seville had an easy group and, without any trouble, secured 1st and 2nd position in group E. Likewise, Krasnodar finished in 3rd, and Rennes was 4th with only 1 point in 6 matches. In group F, Borussia Dortmund finished 1st while Lazio and Club Brugge played against each other in the last round for 2nd place. In the match in Rome, they played 2:2, and Lazio qualified for the knockout phase. For their part, Club Brugge will play in Europa League, and Zenit was knocked out.
Cristiano Ronaldo showed that he missed the duel with Barca and the eternal rival Messi. In this sense, Barca won in Torino, while in the last round, Juventus won in Barcelona with 3:0, and both teams will play in the knockout phase. Dynamo Kyiv qualified for Europa League as they finished 3rd, and Ferencvaros was in 4th place. On the other hand, another bad season for Manchester United ended with a premature elimination in the Champions League. Solskjer's plan to preserve draw in Leipzig collapsed like a tower of cards. Manchester United was in a win situation, but they were unfortunately defeated in Istanbul by Basaksehir. In the 5th round, they lost to PSG at Old Trafford. Despite their good start, they finished in 3rd position. Then, PSG and Leipzig will play in the knockout phase. The first round of the knockout phase will begin on 16.02.2021, and Barcelona will face PSG, RB Leipzig will play against Liverpool, Atalanta versus Real Madrid, Seville against Bor. Dortmund, Porto vs. Juventus, Atl. Madrid vs. Chelsea, Lazio against Bayern Munich, and B. Monchengladbach will face Manchester City. All football fans from around the world are looking forward to these matches.
