WHO ARE THE MAIN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGERS ?

As the UEFA Champions League unfolds, the battle for European club football’s most coveted trophy intensifies, bringing into focus the main challengers poised to etch their names into the history books. This tournament, celebrated for its unpredictability and the drama it encapsulates, has never been short of contenders, underdogs, and footballing giants clashing in epic encounters that capture the imagination of fans worldwide.

In the panorama of this season’s Champions League, several clubs have emerged, demonstrating their credentials as genuine contenders. These teams, through a combination of tactical brilliance, squad depth, and individual talent, have positioned themselves as frontrunners in the race for European glory.

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UCL: ITALIAN FOOTBALL IN SERIOUS TROUBLE

UCL: ITALIAN FOOTBALL IN SERIOUS TROUBLE

Italian football started this season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) with four representatives but it is unlikely that there would be at least one representative left in the competition when hostilities resume in the quarterfinals next month. Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta were the Italian football representatives in the UCL this season. Three of the four teams made it out of the group stage and into the round of 16. Italian champions Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta made it out of the group stage at the end of last year, while Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan didn’t make it out of their group. As a matter of fact, Inter Milan finished bottom of the group that had Real Madrid, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Shakthar Donetsk.

The round of 16 ties in the Champions League started last month with the aformentioned trio of Juventus, Atalanta and Lazio as Italian football representatives but they are likely to progress beyond this stage as things stand. Juventus arethe holders of the Italian football top flight league and they have already been eliminated by FC Porto. The Italian champions were eliminated by Portuguese champions FC Porto by the away goals rule. The Old Lady lost the first leg 2-1 away from home before a 3-2 win over Porto ensured that the Portuguese giants will advance into the quarterfinals at their expense.

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Pochettino refuses to rule out move for Inter midfielder

Pochettino refuses to rule out move for Inter midfielder

PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that the club will try to look into the availability of Christian Eriksen. The Inter Milan midfielder has struggled for form and he is available in the market after Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta confirmed that a few weeks ago about the same. Pochettino is no stranger to Eriksen after having managed the Danish midfielder during his time at Tottenham. After leaving Spurs in 2019, Pochettino had been out of work until now. However, he has been able to find a top job in the form of PSG. The serial French league champions will be aware about the quality possessed by Christian Eriksen.

The club are expected to be active in the transfer market following the appointment of Pochettino, who will have funds to spend in January and in the summer. A number of ambitious moves have been touted around. The club are reportedly keen on bringing Lionel Messi, who will be a free agent in the summer, for the ultimate reunion with Neymar. Pochettino is a manager would like to work with players who are not superstars. He also knows Eriksen extremely well after having managed him for the five seasons at Spurs.

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FANS VOTE GREALISH OVER RONALDO

FANS VOTE GREALISH OVER RONALDO

Fans have surprisingly voted for Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish over Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as far as Whoscored Followers Ultimate XI for 2020 is concerned. The followers of football stats platform Whoscored picked Jack Grealish ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ultimate XI for last year. Almost 34,000 votes were cast as a lot of notable names including Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on the final team after fans had voted. New Aston Villa shot stopper Emiliano Martinez made the list after he received 53% of the total votes. He played for both Arsenal and Aston Villa in 2020.

Inter Milan right-back AchraafHakimi is in debut season in Italian football after making the move from Real Madrid last summer. He had spent last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund from Real Madrid last season. Hakimi got 55% of the votes. He played for Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan in 2020. Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma and currently injured Liverpool player Virgil Van Dijk are the centre backs in the team. Kurt Zouma got 44% of the votes, while Virgil Van Dijk secured 50% of the votes. AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez has been in sensational form in Italian football this season and he completes the defensive setup at left-back with 54% of the votes.

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GOLDEN BOOT RACE: RONALDO EXTENDS LEAD

GOLDEN BOOT RACE: RONALDO EXTENDS LEAD

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has extended his lead at the top of the Golden Boot race as far as the Italian football top flight is concerned this season. The Portuguese international hit two goals in the win over Udinese at the weekend to extend his lead over nearest challenger RomeluLukaku as the race to win the Golden Boot starts to gather pace in the Italian football top flight this term. Cristiano Ronaldo has made a big impact on Italian football since his move from Real Madrid to Juventus in the summer of 2018 and he further highlighted his influence in Italian football with a brace during the 4-1 victory at home to Udinese as his Juventus side bounced back from the disappointing maiden league defeat of the season suffered at the hands of Fiorentina last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave Juventus a first half lead on the half hour mark. Italian international Federico Chiesa added a second goal four minutes into the second half before Ronaldo took the game beyond the reach of Udinese with the third Juventus goal on 70 minutes. Dutchman Marvin Zeegelaar scored the lone Udinese goal on 90 minutes and there was still time for Juventus to score a fourth goal through Paolo Dybala.

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PIRLO HAS DEFENSIVE ISSUES

PIRLO HAS DEFENSIVE ISSUES

Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo is faced with a mini-defensive crisis after Dutch international centre back Matthijs De Ligt was ruled out of the league clash with highflyers Sassuolo at home on Sunday evening.

Matthijs De Ligt joined the growing list of absentees for the Old Lady in the defensive area after the club confirmed on Friday that the Dutchman has tested positive for Covid-19. Matthijs De Ligt was highly sought after while he was at boyhood club Ajax Amsterdam and it was Juventus that won the race to sign him at the start of last season.

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RONALDO SET TO BE RESTED

RONALDO SET TO BE RESTED

Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo has confirmed that star man Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be featuring in their first Serie A clash of the New Year against Benevento after they both agreed that the club’s top-scorer would be rested following a hectic run of fixtures up until Christmas.

Ronaldo was given a rest break after he featured in a congested run of fixtures for Juventus and Portugal in November, as Pirlo has made it clear that he wants his superstar rested so he would not accumulate fatigue or sustain any injury as a result of fixture congestion.

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MILAN, KING OF ITALIAN FOOTBALL

MILAN, KING OF ITALIAN FOOTBALL

 

AC Milan are the kings of Italian football at the moment as the seven-time European champions continue to set the pace in the Serie A this season. The Rossoneri are yet to taste defeat in Italian football this season and they are one of the two teams without a single defeat in the league this season. Italian Serie A champions Juventus are the other team with a zero defeat in the Italian top flight this term.


Milan recorded their eighth win of the season with an away victory over Sampdoria during their clash in Italian football top flight on Sunday night. It was a week ten clash in the Italian Serie A. AC Milan beat Sampdoria2-1 away from home to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the league standings. The win took their unbeaten league run to 22 games dating back to the last match before the hiatus caused by Covid-19 last season. The last loss for the Rossoneriin the league came in the month of March as Milan lost 2-1 at home to Genoa.

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Smalling opens up on Manchester United exit

Smalling opens up on Manchester United exit

 

Roma defender Chris Smalling has claimed that he was left in a very disappointing situation with regard to his future at Manchester United.Smalling recently became a Roma player on a permanent basis following a €20 million transfer. Crucially, he made the switch to Roma initially on a loan deal and it was later changed into a permanent move following an impressive campaign in the Italian Serie A.


Smalling has described how he was quite aware that he had no future at Manchester United when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of the club. However, Smalling was disappointed to learn at the last minute that he could leave United. This reduced the number of options available and he had to take the international route to make sure that he was getting game time on a regular basis. If not for this late information, Smalling says that he might have had more options. The 30-year-old is an England international and should have no trouble in finding a club fit for his stature. Over the years, Smalling has been quite successful by winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one EFL Cup, and one Europa League medal.

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MILAN EYEING BAYERN DEFENDER

MILAN EYEING BAYERN DEFENDER

 

Italian Serie A leaders AC Milan aree reportedly interested in signing one of the defenders on the books of reigning European champions Bayern Munich. This is according to the newest reports coming out of the media in Italy. The Rossoneri are keeping tabs on an experienced player at the Allianz Arena.


According to MilanLive, Bayern Munich centre back Jerome Boateng is a major target for AC Milan ahead of next summer. The long-term future of Boateng is in serious doubt at the Allianz Arena and the Rossoneri are prepared to capitalise on the situation. The target is to add his experience to a young Milan squad.

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