BATTLE FOR LAST 16: Group stage nears business end in compressed Champions League

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 49 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 23%
  • Publisher: 84%

South Africa News News

South Africa South Africa Latest News,South Africa South Africa Headlines

While some sides are out to maintain perfect Champions League records and qualify for the next round, others need wins to ensure they bounce back following slow starts in the group phase.

As opposed to previous seasons, where matches were played every fortnight, with the 2022 Fifa World Cup little more than a month away, the elite European club competition has been forced to condense the group fixtures in a two-month window.

Pep Guardiola’s rampaging City side visits Copenhagen. In the reverse fixture a week ago, the Citizens proved too strong for their opponents — dismantling the Danish side 5-0 in Manchester. “Every game is different. Players can handle 90 minutes. I like when everyone can help the team and play as best as possible and reach the best level. I like this. Now we have a weapon with more substitutions. That doesn’t mean you always use it. Sometimes I will use five, we will see.”Reigning and record Champions League winners Real Madrid travel to Warsaw, Poland knowing that another victory over exiled Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk will seal their path to the next round.

The Naples-based team is unbeaten in 11 games across all competitions so far this season, winning nine and playing to two stalemates.Whereas the fortunes of the aforementioned quintuple have been positive, some teams have struggled for consistency and grinding out the desired results.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in ZA

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Euro 2024 qualifying draw sees England take on Italy - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.Defending champions Italy will face England in their Euro 2024 qualifying group, a repeat of last year’s tournament final, following the draw on Sunday in Frankfurt’s Festhalle.
Source: SABCNews - 🏆 37. / 51 Read more »