The Champions League 2021 has so much excitement, and surprises left. We all know there is nothing like this soccer sporting event in sports today. Barcelona could exit the Champions League this week, while Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has already done so, and AC Milan’s 40-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic could spark a spectacular round-of-16 qualification. If you still need persuading that the Champions League is OK the way it is, the next two days should provide unmistakable evidence.
In the Champions League 2021, numerous teams have already secured their place in the knockout round. Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United have all been guaranteed a place in the round-of-16 draw on December 13, while Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Juventus have also been assured of a place in the round-of-16 draw.
Champions Leage: The biggest Teams Fate Still Inconclusive
But, with memories of the failed attempt by 12 clubs to form a breakaway European Super League (ESL) in April – when some of the game’s most powerful teams unveiled proposals to create an exclusive new competition that would have killed the Champions League as we know it – there is perhaps a sweet irony that Barcelona, one of the main drivers of the ESL plan, is now desperately attempting to stay in a competition they were so keen to leave.
If Barcelona fails to conquer Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, they will be relying on Dynamo Kiev to beat Benfica in Lisbon in order for Xavi Hernandez’s team to advance to the round of 16.
Barça, Benfica, Sporting CP and Tyumen will compete in the knockout finals
That’s all there is to it. Mighty Barcelona, which has dominated the Champions League for the past two decades, may end up needing a favour from one of the teams whose European future would have been so much bleaker had the ESL rebels been able to push through their hugely lucrative breakaway competition.
Barcelona hasn’t been to the knockout stages since the 2003-04 season, so their fight for survival is the focus of matchday six, but the competition has produced a number of other intriguing storylines during the group stages, teeing up a fascinating final round of fixtures.
This season, we have seen the remarkable storey of Sheriff Tiraspol, the Moldovan champions, who defeated Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu to top Group D after two wins in two games in their first appearance in the group stage.
Young Boys of Switzerland kickstarted the champions league in Group F with a home win over Manchester United, while Benfica’s 3-0 win over Barcelona at Estadio da Luz in September stunned the Spanish giants, leaving them needing a win against in-form Bayern to guarantee their progression.
Despite Dortmund appearing to be strong favourites to win Group C, Erik ten Hag’s impressive young Ajax team secured top spot with five wins from five games so far, while Sporting Lisbon claimed second place thanks to a 3-1 home win over Dortmund last month, dropping Haaland & Co. into the Europa League.
The finale of the Champions League will be a super exciting moment for all the fans and the build-up to this finale is getting more exciting as days pass by.
The European Cup was reformed into the UEFA Champions League in the year 1992 and since then, it’s been the biggest Cup competition in European club football. The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by European clubs of the top division. It is considered as one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football.
Champions League 2020-21 format
The tournament follows a group and knockout format. For the Champions League, qualifying begins in the summer with three rounds and then a play-off taking place before 32 teams begin the group stage starting in September. The group stage involves eight groups of four teams, with each club playing everyone else in that group home and away.
The top two sides in each group move on to the round of 16 and the start of the knockout phase, while the third-placed team drops into the UEFA Europa League. The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are played over two legs, home and away, while the final is hosted by a stadium which is selected almost two years in advance.
