Would you like to receive notifications on latest updates of the following headlines?

Spanish, German soccer royalty clash in Champions League third round

POSTED ON October 22, 2024 •   Sports      BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara
Madrid: Borussia Dortmund coach, Nuri Sahin takes part in a press conference for the team at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League soccer match against Real Madrid. l Credit: Alberto Gardin/ZUMA Press Wire

It's the top team in Spain facing off against the elite German soccer clubs in the latest Champions League matches.

A rematch of last season’s final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund is the headliner on Tuesday, before Barcelona hosts Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the next chapter of what has been a fairly one-sided rivalry in Europe’s top club competition.

All four teams have been European champions inside the last 30 years and they’ve made mixed starts to this season’s revamped format.

Dortmund has won both of their opening matches — 3-0 at Club Brugge and 7-1 at home to Celtic — to be the early leader and top scorer of the league stage, which sees all 36 teams play eight matches: four at home and four away.

Just like last season when reaching the Champions League final against the odds before losing to Madrid, Dortmund has been far more impressive in Europe than in the Bundesliga. Indeed, after thrashing Celtic, Dortmund lost at Union Berlin four days later.

Madrid, meanwhile, is coming off a surprising 1-0 loss at Lille, the defending champions’ first defeat in the competition since the semifinals in the 2022-23 season.

In fact, the second round of matches threw up a few shockers, including Bayern losing 1-0 at Aston Villa to end its unbeaten run under new coach Vincent Kompany.

Now Bayern heads to Barcelona in search of a seventh straight win in their head-to-head, a streak that includes a humiliating 8-2 loss for Barca in the quarterfinals in 2020. Hansi Flick was in charge of Bayern that night and is now the coach of Barcelona.

Man City record

If Manchester City beats Sparta Prague at home on Wednesday, the English champions will set the record for consecutive games undefeated in the history of the competition — even stretching back before 1992 into the European Cup era.

City is currently on 25 matches unbeaten, tied with Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team from 2007-09.

The last loss for Pep Guardiola’s team in the Champions League was the 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semifinals in 2022, which cost City a place in the final that season.

Since then, City has won 17 matches and drawn eight, having won the competition in 2022-2023 and been eliminated on penalties by Madrid in 2023-24 after back-to-back draws in the quarterfinals.

Unlikely high-flyer

Of the seven teams on a maximum six points, Brest is undoubtedly the most surprising.

This is the unheralded French team’s European debut — in any competition — after an unexpected third-place finish in Ligue 1 last season. It couldn’t be going any better.

A 2-1 win over Austrian champion Sturm Graz was followed by a 4-0 thrashing of another Austrian team, Salzburg, in the second round of games.

They will be the easiest opponents Brest is going to face. Now the hard work begins, with German champion Bayer Leverkusen next up on Wednesday.

Leverkusen won’t be heading to Brest, a pretty port city in Brittany, but Guingamp — about 114 kilometers (71 miles) away. That’s because Brest’s stadium doesn’t meet UEFA standards so its home games have been relocated.

Bad starts

With each team playing eight games in the new league system, opening with back-to-back losses isn’t the nightmare start it would have been in the old format when there were six matches per side in the group stage.

Still, AC Milan, Leipzig, Girona, Salzburg, Sturm Graz, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade will be desperate to get at least one point on the board in the third round of fixtures.

Salzburg and Young Boys haven’t even scored a goal.

One of the eight pointless teams is sure to get off the mark, with tournament newcomer Girona hosting Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

Leipzig could easily be on zero points after three games, though, with Liverpool visiting on Wednesday — a match that has more intrigue since former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was signed as the head of global soccer at Red Bull, whose international network of clubs includes Leipzig.

 

READ ALSO
Leeds United's 6-0 Victory Seals Promotion alongside Burnley’s Key Win
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 22, 2025 0

Leeds United and Burnley clinched promotion to the Premier League after securing the highest points...

READ ALSO
CAF unveils dates, Venues for 2025 Africa U-20 cup of Nations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 21, 2025 0

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has announced the dates, kick-off times and venues for t...

READ ALSO
Nigerian Sprinters Shine in Florida, Secure Spots for 2025 World Championships
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 21, 2025 0

Nigerian sprinters based in the United States, Favour Ofili, Kanyinsola Ajayi, and Tima Godbless, qu...

READ ALSO
Nigeria's U-18 Women’s Handball Team Crushes Togo 53-21 in Abidjan
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 21, 2025 0

Nigeria’s U-18 women’s handball team kicked off their IHF Trophy Zonal Phase on Sunday w...

READ ALSO
Eagles unveil strong 24-man squad for 2025 Africa U20 cup of Nations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 18, 2025 0

Nigeria’s under-20 head coach Aliyu Zubairu has announced a strong 24-man squad for the 2025 A...

READ ALSO
Man Utd. late magic secures semi-final spot against Athletic Bilbao
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 18, 2025 0

The renowned English football club, Manchester United, has advanced to the semi-finals of the Europa...

READ ALSO
BREAKING: Liverpool's captain virgil van Dijk secures future at Anfield with New 2year Deal
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 17, 2025 0

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has officially committed his future to the club, signing a new two...

READ ALSO
Arsenal Defeats Titleholder, Secures Spot in Champions League Semi-Finals
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 17, 2025 0

Arsenal, the English football powerhouse, has advanced to the Semi-finals of the UEFA Champions Leag...

OUR CHANNELS:

FG commends Ghana for rescuing 219 trafficked Nigerians from cybercrime
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The federal government has praised the Ghanaian authorities for rescuing at least 2...


Tinubu meets security chiefs, Calls for swift action against ongoing violence
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for an immediate end to the ongoing violence...


FG releases ₦50Bn for university staff unions, A commitment to educational reform
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, announced on Wednesday that the federal govern...


Fani-Kayode criticises Mutfwang's leadership amid security crisis
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

PLATEAU, Nigeria - Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-K...


Father demands justice as Nigerian correctional service dismisses kidnapping allegations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria - Ogunsinasi Oluwaseyi, the father of 12-year-old Oluwaseyi Favour, who was r...


Ogun shuts  four companies for environmental violations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

OGUN, Nigeria (NAN) - The Ogun state government, via its Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA), ha...


IMF urges Nigeria to exercise fiscal caution amid economic reforms
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Nigeria to exercise caution in its expenditures...


FG urges IMF, World Bank to bolster economic reforms in sub-saharan Africa
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 24, 2025 0

Finance Minister Wale Edun has emphasized the need for increased global assistance to reform economi...


LASG short 66,000 healthcare practitioners, threat to quality services delivery
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - The Lagos State Government is grappling with a significant shortage of medical prac...


Pope Francis to be buried April 26
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leade...


More Articles

Load more...

Menu