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The Stride of Champions

Just underway, this season’s Champions League brings a tempting potential of intense clashes – the road to a grand finale in Madrid seems anything but easy

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is back – promising another season of spectacular goals, audacious comebacks, enthralling midweek evenings and spine-chilling clashes between the top European clubs. The current edition is the 26th, after the new era was rebranded in 1992 by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA). Beginning in 1955 as the European Cup, it underwent several changes, including the addition of a group stage, to ultimately become the competition we know today. This year the finale will be held at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid.


The last Champions League season, as expected, was packed with drama. The 2017-18 season had surprise knockouts and comebacks, with a great set of matches paving the way for a thrilling final – and, when the dust settled in Kiev's NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, there was a familiar winner standing in Real Madrid. They had thrashed Liverpool's hopes 3-1 in a thrilling final. Barcelona was knocked out of the competition on away goals with a bizarre 0-3 defeat to AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico, even after winning the first home leg 4-1 at Camp Nou. Cristiano Ronaldo was the top-scorer last season with 15 goals. The UEFA, in its annual award ceremony, felicitated Keylor Navas (Best Goalkeeper), Sergio Ramos (Best Defender), Luka Modric (Best Midfielder) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Best Forward), as a ritual. It was only fitting that all the players belonged to Real Madrid, who won the competition comprehensively in Zinedine Zidane's last season at the helm of managerial affairs.

Eager to break the monopoly of a stupendous Real Madrid side, who have scripted history by claiming an unprecedented three successive championship trophies, top clubs are gearing up for their group stage games between September 18 and December 12.

There is no AC Milan in the Champions League this season, which is a big shock for the supporters of this legendary club,

champions on seven occasions – second only to Real's dominating 13 titles. Same is the story with Chelsea and Arsenal, two familiar clubs representing England in the European games, however, they will be seen in the Europa League where both will be looking to triumph for a direct berth in next year's Champions League. Borussia Dortmund returns to Europe's top flight with a reinvigorated young squad, hoping to work up some magic as they fight their way across the heavyweights. In a turnaround, Inter will return after being out of the UCL for seven long years.

Group stage draws for this season bring some interesting clashes. Group B comprising of heavyweights – Barcelona, Inter, Tottenham, and PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Champions), has been regarded as the ultimate 'group of death'. The second 'group of death' is Group C with Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Napoli. While all three of them can easily cruise past the fourth team Red Star Belgrade, clashes between them would upset one – and it certainly doesn't look to be Liverpool. Jürgen Klopp, who has reinforced the squad as per his whims over two years, showcased his credibility by reaching a second final of his career last year, (first with Dortmund in 2012-13, at Wembley) though they eventually lost to Real Madrid.

PSG has a mammoth task ahead in proving to their critics that their hefty signings of Neymar, Mbappe and Buffon are not just to win the Ligue 1, which they have conquered four times in a row. The other closely watched groups will be Group A and Group H. In group A, three-time runners-up Atletico Madrid, having the meanest defence in Europe, take on AS Monaco and Borussia Dortmund; while in Group H, record seven-time runners-up Juventus have the task of putting Valencia, Manchester United and debutant Young Boys to rest. Juventus may break the runners-up jinx this term with the inclusion of a special element that they had been lacking in all those defeats – Cristiano Ronaldo. Given Ronaldo's credibility and talent, he is a nagging threat to the opponent's defence while Juventus itself poses one of the tightest defences in the competition. Ronaldo will have a chance at homecoming with his former club, Manchester United, setting up a nostalgic return to Old Trafford, for which he may not be playing should UEFA decide to extend his punishment to two matches post his controversial Red Card in the first game. For Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Porto, easing past their group stages shouldn't be a hassle, given their comparatively lenient group opponents. Debutants Crvena Zvezda, Hoffenheim and Young Boys are joining the prestigious competition with a chance to bring European matches to their home grounds.

Last week, the first round of 16 group games culminated in an astonishing 45 goals. Some mouth-watering clashes such as Liverpool vs PSG, Inter vs Tottenham, Real Madrid vs AS Roma, saw the world's top club competition come back to new life. With a hat-trick from Messi, Inter's dramatic comeback in dying minutes, Firmino's thunderous strike to upset PSG 3-2, Ronaldo's controversial Red Card on his UCL debut for Juventus and Lyon stunning Manchester City 1-2 at home – the intensity of action speaks for the credibility of the competition, in the very first glimpse of its new term.

Mauro Icardi had never scored in the Champions League and, yet, the Inter captain was the one to balance the scoreline with a sublime finish before Matias Vecino gave the team its first win after coming back from European exile. Leo Messi did what he does best with a crafted curling freekick from outside the box before bragging a hat-trick to kickstart the new season. Headlines were drawn by Ronaldo for a controversial Red Card that saw him end his European debut with Juventus in under the half an hour mark, though the team did go on to defeat Valencia through a brace from Pjanic.

To the dismay of many, Manchester City, one of the tournament favourites, lost to Lyon with goals from Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir. Meanwhile, Firmino came off the bench to give the Reds a hard-earned victory over PSG, in a game which Liverpool controlled better than Paris. It was a homecoming for Renato Sanchez who scored a stunning goal and was applauded by the fans of his former club Benfica in a game where Bayern defeated Benfica with ease. Real cruised past Roma with goals from Gareth Bale, a delicious free-kick, from Isco and a beautiful goal from new boy Mariano to give the defending champions a much deserving 3-0 victory.

The road to Madrid has just begun and it is still too early to draw predictions. Real Madrid may run for a fourth consecutive trophy, but Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus pose serious threats to the defending champions. Meanwhile, all eyes are set on FC Barcelona, the only team to usurp Madrid's dominance in the past five terms. Boasting of a reinvigorated squad led by one of the best players of all time — Lionel Messi – Barcelona will be eager to overturn their humiliating exit last term. It is indeed, Game On!

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