The Champions Blog #1.1

 The Champions Blog

Please Note: Original Creation Date was 18th September 2023

Last minute drama, big wins and unforgettable performances. Matchday 1 of the Champions League had it all. What a way for football’s greatest ever club competition to return. In this blog, we look on how the Champions League is up and running for the season.

The Champions League started off at two different venues. The first being in Milan for the first ever meeting between AC Milan and Newcastle United in a Champions League fixture. This match was Newcastle’s first Champions League game in 20 years after they grabbed 4th in the Premier League last season. AC Milan on the other hand have only won 1 match out of their last 11 against English sides in the Champions League, the win was a 1-0 victory at the San Siro against Tottenham Hotspurs last season. Sandro Tonali (Newcastle #8) returns to his former club after his summer departure worth 70 million euros. Back to the game, the teams started their UCL campaign with a goalless draw. The draw sees the spoils shared and a clean sheet for both sides. Meanwhile in the Swiss capital, RB Leipzig played the Swiss champions, Young Boys after their return to the Champions League after a year absence. The game finished 3-1 to the DFB Pokal champions thanks to goals from Mohamed Simikan, Xaver Schagler, and Benjamin Šeško.

Picture Above: RB Leipzig players celebrating a goal in Bern while Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon battles with AC Milan defenders Fikayo Tomori and Radé Krunić

A while later, 6 other matches took place across Europe. The European champions of last season, Manchester City got back in the action in the UCL after they capped of a 3-1 victory over Crvena Zvevda, while La Liga champions Barcelona started their campaign with a thumping 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp who made their first ever appearance in the Champions League. Quick lowdown of the rest of the games, Porto comfortably beat Shaktar Donetsk 3-1 in Hamburg, PSG defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 thanks to goals from Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappe, Eridevise champions Feyenoord beat the Scottish champions, Celtic 2-0 while Atletico Madrid where held at the Stadio Olimpico by Lazio due to the late heroics of Ivan Provedel.

Picture Above: PSG forward, Kylian Mbappé trying to get past Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels. Julian Alvarez goes past Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper, Omri Glazer. Barcelona players celebrate a Joao Felix goal against Royal Antwerp.

The following night, the all-time champions, Real Madrid returned to the action against tournament debutants, Union Berlin. The German side are making their first appearance in the Champions League and have became the 15th different team from Germany to make an appearance in the Champions League. Union Berlin fought hard against the 14-time champions but Jude Bellingham’s last minute winner denied an unbeaten debut for Union Berlin in the Champions League. The British midfielder continues his impressive form for Real Madrid with another goal which made it his 6th goal in 6 appearances for Los Blancos. Real we’re up and running for the Champions League.

Picture Above: Jude Bellingham celebrating his last-minute winner against Union Berlin to give Real Madrid the 3 points.

Meanwhile in Munich, Bundesliga champions and 6-time champions, Bayern Munich welcomed Manchester United to the Allianz Arena. The Red Devils made their first appearance since their 1 year absence due to poor finishing in the 2021-22 Premier League season (6th). They game started off with Bayern winning 2-0 by the end of the first half thanks to goals by Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry. Eventually, a few minutes into the second half, Manchester United’s newest signing, Rasmus Højlund pulled one goal back for the Red Devils only to be cancelled out by a penalty kick by England skipper, Harry Kane. It looked as it was going to be a win for Bayern Munich until Casemiro netted an 88 minutes volley to give Man United a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, it was soon cancelled out by Bayern’s French youngster, Mathys Tel who netted a goal in the 92nd minute to make it 4-2 to the Bavarians. Eventually soon after, Casemiro netted again for Man United but it was too little too late as the game finished 4-3 to Bayern Munich to cap of another Champions League classic. 

Picture Above: Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane takes a shot against Manchester United defenders Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez.

In other games, the Turkish champions, Galatasaray pulled of a 2-2 draw against the Danish champions, FC Kobenhavn. Arsenal marked their return to the Champions League after a 6-year absence with a scintillating 4-0 performance against PSV Eindhoven in North London. Current Europa League winners, Sevilla started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Lens, a team who also made their first UCL appearance in 20 years. Serie A winners, Napoli travelled to Braga, Portugal to face SC Braga, a team who hasn’t appeared in the competition since the 2012-13 season. It finished 2-1 to the Italian champions thanks to a late own goal by Sikou Niakaté of Braga. Benfica suffered a surprise defeat to the hands of RB Salzburg who defeated them 2-0 in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Meanwhile Real Sociedad made their return to the Champions League after a 9 year absence with a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan, last season’s runners-up.

Picture Above: Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez scores against Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro. Arsenal forward, Bukayo Saka celebrating after scoring his first Champions League goal.

Overall, the Champions League couldn’t have gone off to a better start. Late drama, new classics and the return of many great clubs. The Champions Blog will be back on October 6th for Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League. That’s all for now. See you then.