09/14/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 9/14/2021 6:01 AM
The Champions League, the most important club tournament in Europe, will start a new edition in the week that Lionel Messi will renew his desire to win it again, although this time, in the colors of Paris Saint Germain.
In turn, the tournament will seek to consolidate its traditional hierarchy to definitively drive away the attempts of a parallel European league that only found rejection in the football community.
Undoubtedly one of the groups to follow closely corresponds to A, in which there are
two candidates to establish themselves as PSG and Manchester Cit
and, in addition to Leipzig and Bruges.
In any case, we must not lose sight of other Premier League teams that are also powerhouses such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United or the Spanish who are always protagonists: the top winner of the Orejona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Simeone and Who knows, the new Barcelona without Messi.
The 2021/22 Champions League groups.
Tuesday's matchday will feature a total of eight games corresponding to the group stage of the 67th edition of the traditional European tournament and the 30th since it was no longer called the European Cup.
One of the most outstanding matches will be
Barcelona against Bayern Munich
, another candidate to lift the cup, from 16 o'clock, for group E.
The Catalans will face their first match without Messi in the Champions League
against an all-time favorite, such as the German club .
The absence of the Rosario star detracts from the prominence of the culé institution that is going through a difficult football and economic situation, but his coach, the Dutchman
Roland Koeman, did not get out of the fight
:
"Chelsea was not among the favorites in the last edition and came out champion, "he
said at a press conference.
Lionel Messi will look for the Champions League in his new team Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Young Boys of Switzerland against Manchester United, from 13.45, for group F, will have as an attraction the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned to the English club and on Sunday already marked the difference with two goals for the 4-1 against Newcastle at Old Trafford .
Ronaldo, like Messi, changed teams when he left Juventus and with his arrival, Manchester intends to return to the forefront of the Champions League.
The last Red Devils title occurred in 2008
, which was the third for their showcases, with Cristiano as the scorer with eight goals in
a luxury squad that also featured Carlos Tevez
.
The captain of the Portuguese team is the top scorer in the Champions League with 135 goals, followed by Messi with 120
.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating the goal on his return to Manchester United Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP
At the same time,
Sevilla
and Salzburg of Austria will play for group G, in a Sevillian team that includes
the Argentines Marcos Acuña, Lucas Ocampos, Erik Lamela and Gonzalo Montiel
.
Starting at 16 o'clock, the rest of the matches will be played with the presentation of the current champion, Chelsea of England, against Zenit of Russia by group H.
The day will be completed with: Group E: Dinamo Kiev - Benfica;
Group F: Villarreal - Atalanta;
Group G: Lille - Wolfsburg and Group H: Malmo of Sweden - Juventus
Chelsea, the last champion Photo: EFE / EPA / David Ramos / POOL
Tomorrow the highlight: Messi makes his Champions League debut with PSG
As for Wednesday, Messi, obsessed with winning the maximum European trophy at club level, will make his debut with PSG in the Champions League when he faces Bruges of Belgium from 4:00 p.m., although the match of the day will be played by Inter - Real Madrid, at the same time.
Also at 16, they will face: Group A: Manchester City - Leipzig;
Group B: Atlético de Madrid - Porto and Liverpool - Milan;
Group C: Sporting de Lisboa - Ajax.
Earlier, at 1:45 pm, Wednesday's session will open for Group C: Besiktas - Borussia Dortmund and in Group D the incredible Sheriff Tiraspol - Shakhtar Donetsk.
The final of the 67th edition will take place at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on May 28, 2022. The top winner is Real Madrid with 13 titles and Chelsea is the last champion.
