Starry nights where it is forbidden to be afraid, getting a little excited is instead almost physiological. The new one begins Champions League 2024-25the first edition of the top European competition with a format that will present novelties important compared to the recent past with which we grew up. Among the 36 participants there will be 5 Italiansof which we will be curious to discover the level day by day.
Let’s start from the first one, trying to dissect it the 5 key themes (italian) of the first round of the Champions League.
Champions League Matchday 1 Schedule
Tuesday 17th September
Wednesday 18th September
Thursday, September 19
It will be the first match of the entire competition, coinciding with Young Boys-Aston Villa in Bern. Juventus will return to taste Europe after a season of abstinence and will do so with an incoming market that projects it as one of the Italian clubs to follow more carefully. If the ambitions in Serie A are now quite clear, there is curiosity about the Bianconeri’s approach in the Champions League. The first days of the championship have shown a solid team that is looking for the right chemistry and interactions to also enhance the new offensive package. It’s a question of time.
Opponents sidehe PSV. The reigning Dutch champions have started their season as they had closed the previous one: dominating. 5 wins in as many Eredivisie games, 20 goals scored and only 3 conceded. An embarrassing average and a form that for over a year has presented them as the strongest team in their country; de Jong, Bakayoko, Til among the main dangers.
19 years ago Istanbul, 17 years ago Athens. A lot of time has passed since those historic finals, which before the 2010s gave us romantic versions of the two clubs. Milan of Ancelotti and the Liverpool of Benitez, clubs capable of challenging each other in the final act of the Champions League just two years apart. Both teams, with due differences, have scaled down and returned to greatness at the hands of Stefano Pioli and Jurgen Klopp and today are led respectively by Paulo Fonseca and Arne Slot.
Opponents side, Liverpool. Arne Slot’s new cycle had started very well, before the last round of the championship put the path in doubt. Three victories in as many matches without conceding a goal, among which the 0-3 inflicted on Manchester United stands out Old Traffordand the latest surprising defeat suffered at Anfield against Nottingham Forest. Tiredness due to returning from the break or black out surprise? Anyway, positive news for Milan, the chances to hurt the reds not only do they exist, but they have already been opened.
A historic event that the fans of the Bologna have been waiting for months, years, decades. A debut that will see the light of day slowly fade to make way for the Champions League night that the Felsinei have been waiting to experience since last season’s party in the square. The start in Serie A has not been convincing (still 0 wins on the scoresheet), but it doesn’t matter. Challenges like this can overturn the morale of an entire fan base in one evening.
Opponents side, lo Shakhtar. The first club to face Vincenzo Italiano’s new Bologna will be Shakhtar, downsized compared to a few years ago and author of a limping start in their homeland. Two defeats suffered in the first five matches of the Ukrainian Premier League. chances rossoblu to start the Champions League in the best possible way are many.
About 15 months have passed, less than a year and a half since that defeat in Finale in Champions League which has inevitably marked the recent history of Inter. From there the path to the second star and the feeling that that match was not only a missed opportunity, but also yet another opportunity for the players to realize their level. L’Inter the new European competition will start right from Manchester, in a belated rematch againstEtihad which will allow the Nerazzurri to test the ground of differences with one of the two strongest teams in the world.
Opponents side, il Manchester City. The victory of the Community Shield and four wins in as many Premier League matches for the citizensa team that experiences periods of such perfect form that they become almost boring. Haaland is unstoppable (9 goals in 4 Premier League games), De Bruyne is back to his best after his injury and Rodri is probably the best midfielder in the world. Undermining the certainties of the City phenomena will be a tough but intriguing challenge for the Nerazzurri guests.
If Inter face the Premier League’s top force, atAtalanta will be the second. In the unprecedented first round that will also take place on Thursday, Gasperini will welcome Certainly l’Arsenal by Mikel Arteta, in a balanced challenge only thanks to the choral strength acquired by the Goddess in recent years. The resounding success over Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, which dragged the Europa League to Bergamo last season, is still fresh in both our memory and that of our opponents.
Opponents sidel’Arsenal. The objective is clear, to return to the top of the Premier League and try in Europe too. If Arteta hasn’t succeeded in England yet, it’s blame/merit of his master Pep Guardiola, but the Champions League could paradoxically be more within reach. Being, in fact, the second power of the Premier League considering the last few seasons, Arsenal is consequently also one of the favourites to win the final in the top European competition, then it will depend on the clashes in the knockout phase. The challenge of the Certainly it could prove to be yet another opportunity for Gasperini to gain a valuable scalp to add to his career collection.
