Who are the favorites?
To discover
Champions League fixtures and results
Holder of the title, Chelsea is a natural candidate for his own succession.
The excellent start to the season for Thomas Tuchel's men, reinforced by the recruitment of Romelu Lukaku in attack, confirms that they will be difficult to maneuver.
Manchester City, which lost its first C1 final last May, is more than ever one of the favorites, as is the inevitable Bayern Munich, champion in 2020 and narrowly eliminated and in the absence of Robert Lewandowski by the Paris Saint -Germain last season, in the quarter-finals.
PSG is precisely one of the most anticipated clubs this year on the European scene.
If this is not the most expected, Lionel Messi obliges.
Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Atlético de Madrid are serious outsiders.
What to expect from French clubs?
Finalist in 2020 and semi-finalist in 2021, PSG is aiming more than ever for final victory.
With the arrivals of Achraf Hakimi and Lionel Messi, to name a few, and the non-departure of Kylian Mbappé, the Parisians have a target in the back.
The only other French club engaged in C1, Lille had a most lenient draw.
Sevilla FC start as group G favorites, but Wolfsburg and RB Salzburg do not represent insurmountable mountains for Losc.
At least on paper ... Reaching the round of 16 would be a sensation.
A third place to hope to be transferred to the Europa League (see below) is a reasonable goal.
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Nasser Al-Khelaïfi: “
Manchester City?
Good motivation for our players
”
Why does French football play big?
Until now, France was ranked 5th in the UEFA coefficient, which establishes the number of tickets for European competitions available to each country.
Monaco's elimination in the Champions League play-offs allowed Portugal to temporarily overtake France.
If the hexagonal clubs do not catch up quickly, there will be not two but one club qualified for the Europa League at the end of the 2022-23 season.
More serious: France could be caught by the Netherlands in a year, and thus have only two teams qualified for the C1 (including only one automatically).
There is an urgent need for results.
Read alsoChampions League: PSG wants "to win all matches", Lille wants "to play it at 300%"
What is the group of death?
Paris Saint-Germain is one of the favorites of the competition, but it is still necessary to pass the group stage.
Everything but a formality on paper with Manchester City, RB Leipzig and FC Bruges in Group A. City had eliminated PSG in the semi-finals last season.
Bruges is clearly the Petit Poucet of the group.
And Leipzig?
The Germans had already crossed paths with the Parisians in hens last year.
They had imposed themselves at home (2-1) before a hold-up of PSG at the Parc des Princes (1-0).
Paris is warned.
Group B (AC Milan, Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool, FC Porto) also promises sparks.
Posters not to be missed?
For the first evening of the Champions League this Tuesday, all eyes will be on Catalonia.
FC Barcelona receives Bayern Munich, a little over a year after the historic drop inflicted on Barça in the quarter-finals (2-8).
On Wednesday, the matches between Inter Milan against Real Madrid or Liverpool against AC Milan are mouth watering.
You will of course have to turn on your TV for the duels between PSG and Manchester City (28/09 and 24/11).
Finally, each meeting of group B mentioned above will be worth the detour.
Read also FC Barcelona-Bayern Munich: two great Europeans with opposite trajectories
Which players should you absolutely watch out for?
It is impossible not to have a close eye on the Messi-Mbappé-Neymar trio in Paris.
If he scores with AC Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will reach the 50-goal mark in the Champions League.
Antoine Griezmann will want to launch his redemption operation with Atlético.
Erling Haaland, top scorer of the last edition (10 goals), is again expected with Dortmund.
In the race for this individual trophy, it will be necessary to keep a close eye on Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea.
Finally, Cristiano Ronaldo will return to his favorite competition in the Manchester United jersey.
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winning goal against Hoffenheim on August 27 (3-2)
Are records going to fall?
Yes.
With 180 matches in the Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo is one game away from equaling former Real Madrid and Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas (181).
Lionel Messi (149) is not about to catch up with him.
The Portuguese is already the top scorer (135) and decisive passer (42) in the history of C1 and could therefore strengthen these records.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who will turn 40 on October 3, may become the oldest scorer in C1 ahead of Manfred Burgsmüller and his 38 years in 1988. Finally, if Real Madrid goes to the end, Carlo Ancelotti would be the first coach to play 5 C1 finals, and potentially the first to lift the trophy 4 times.
Which channel to watch the Champions League on?
Each week,
Canal +
and
RMC Sport will
co-broadcast the two best posters, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday.
For the first day, it will be Lille-Wolfsburg on Tuesday and FC Bruges-PSG on Wednesday.
It is likely that the two French clubs will be systematically chosen by the two chains.
All other matches will be broadcast by
beIN Sports
and its multiple channels.
Only the final will be available in clear, on
TF1
.
Read alsoChampions League, Ligue 1, France team ... On which channels to watch football on TV this year?
Are there any novelties this season?
Yes.
The away goal rule, which only came into effect from the round of 16, has been removed from all European competitions.
“
More matches will go into extra time,
” said AS Roma coach José Mourinho.
Another novelty: the 3rd of each group in C1 will face the 2nd of the groups of C3 (after a draw) in a round-trip jump-off in order to qualify for the final phase of the Europa League.
A bit like the round of 16.
Where will the final take place?
The final, scheduled for May 28, 2022, will take place at Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is where the 2018 World Cup semi-final France-Belgium (1-0) took place as well as the quarter-final of Euro 2020 last summer between Switzerland and Spain (1 -1 ap, 1-3 on penalties).
