Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
Fifty-eight days since the longest Champions League season of all ended with Bayern München’s triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, a new campaign begins tomorrow – and it would take a brave soul to make too many predictions.
The later start means the 2020/21 group stage will unfold at a different rhythm, with six rounds of matches packed into an eight-week period between now and 9 December. As with so much else during this pandemic period, the impact will only become clear with time. That said, it would be no surprise to see a continuation of the 2019/20 trend for plenty of goals, especially if the tight schedule means less preparation and recovery time. Last season ended with the highest scoring rate of the Champions League era (3.24 per game), with the group stage alone bringing a 7-2, a 6-2, two 6-0s, a 4-4 and three 5-0s.
“The brand of football now is one where you have to attack.” That was a reflection from one UEFA observer, Phil Neville, in the match programme for the PSG-Bayern final, as he sought to make sense of that rush of goals. This is football as entertainment with defensive players given attacking parts to play, be it forward-roaming full-backs or goalkeepers tasked with starting moves from the back.
This desire to play the ball up through the lines against high-pressing opposition attackers means something has to give according to another UEFA observer, speaking in the soon-to-be-published technical report on last term’s competition. “Teams are trying to press aggressively and the ones who are really well organised do it so well. But against really high-level opponents, if you don’t get it absolutely spot on then they’ll play through you and you’re in trouble.”
Whether this means more priority on attacking rather than defensive strategies on the training ground is a moot point, but certainly last season’s competition brought the lowest number of goalless draws – just four – since the 1998/99 season. The early signs from some domestic leagues suggest that more goalfests may be in store in the weeks ahead. Bayern, who found the perfect balance between risk and reward last season, have leaked eight goals in four Bundesliga matches. The 2019 champions Liverpool, hitherto so effective with their high-line, high-press strategy, have conceded 13 in five, and have just lost their defensive leader Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury.
Freak results in empty stadiums have been a feature of the new Premier League season and this might be replicated in the Champions League, with players less inhibited without the pressure of a crowd – and seemingly less able to stop the flow when things go wrong. UEFA’s observers certainly felt that this was a factor when Bayern banged eight past Barcelona in their Lisbon quarter-final.
Additionally, some clubs have still to find their rhythm, particularly those who ended the old season late and so began the new one with little pre-season time. Perhaps tellingly, of last season’s last eight only two remain unbeaten this season: Leipzig and Atlético de Madrid. Leipzig are in a highly competitive-looking Group H along with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Turkish newcomers İstanbul Başakşehir.
Overall there are four teams new to the UEFA Champions League and two of the others, France’s Stade Rennais and Krasnodar of Russia, find themselves together in Group E. The other debutants, Denmark’s Midtjylland, are in one of the most attractive-looking sections, Group D, where they will kick off against Atalanta, last term’s surprise package, before facing Liverpool and Ajax – two clubs with 10 European Cups between them.
As for Ferencváros of Hungary, their first group stage fixture in 25 years is a glamorous one: at Camp Nou against Barcelona. Since that bruising defeat against Bayern the Catalan side have welcomed back 1992 final hero Ronald Koeman as coach, but he suffered the first defeat of his reign at Getafe on Saturday. There was also a 1-0 reverse for their arch-rivals Real Madrid, beaten at home by Cádiz for the first time in their history to prompt a front-page headline of “State of alarm” in today’s Marca.
Welcome to the new season.
