Article 92 — Resumption of European Football
European football in the form of the Europa League and Champions League would resume today.
Since football restarted, I have been most excited about the resumption of Europa League and Champions League football. More so than the resumption of the domestic leagues. Why? Because the change in the format has given it a tournament feel, with matches played in one country and higher chances of surprise, shock results.
The second leg of the remaining three Round of 16 matches in the Europa Lague will be played at the stadium of the home team while the two matches that didn’t even get off the ground in the first leg will be played in Germany. Germany would be the hosts for the Europa League matches from the quarter-final onwards.
The arrangement is similar in the Champions League with the remaining Round of 16, second leg matches being played in the stadium of the home team. From the quarter-final stages, the matches will be played in Portugal.
This arrangement from the quarter-final onwards makes the games very fascinating and finely balanced. The teams would have no choice but to go for it without the security of a second leg to fall back on.
The Europa League matches would be the first to commence tonight. With the exception of Manchester United vs LASK, Basel vs Eintracht Frankfurt and maybe, Bayer Leverkusen vs Glasgow Rangers, the rest of the matches are finely poised with all to play for. The two matches that didn’t take place due to the outbreak of Corona Virus, Inter vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma are the ties of this round. In both ties, either team could win to progress, a true winner takes all Cup tie.
In the Champions League, besides probably Bayern Munich vs Chelsea, the rest of the games are still even. In football, there is a saying that the ball is round and anything can happen so there could still be a chance, however slim it might be, of a team overturning a big first-leg deficit to go through.
There is also an element of the unknown for all teams heading into these games. The French Ligue 1 was prematurely ended due to Corona Virus so Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon would have a lot of rest. PSG has played two cup matches already and won both while Lyon played in one of those cup matches. Would this work in their favour in terms of freshness or would it work against both teams as they might both be rusty? Both French teams are scheduled to play against Italian opposition, Atalanta for PSG and Lyon for Juventus. The Italian Serie A was the last of the big European leagues to end. Could that count against the Italian clubs who might be fatigued?
Juventus are playing this Friday night, Saturday morning in Singapore/Malaysia time while Atalanta has more rest before taking on PSG on Wednesday night, Thursday morning. If anything, the rest Atalanta would get might work in their favour. They would have played more competitive matches this season than PSG and would have enough rest before taking on the serial French champions and one of the favourites to win the Champions League. Juventus took their foot off the pedal two games before the end of the season after securing the league title and that could work their favour in the conservation of their collective energy ahead of facing Lyon. But Lyon’s freshness could have a say in this tie and cause Juventus problems.
The German Bundesliga was the first big European league to end their season. Serial German champions, Bayern last played a competitive match on the 27th June 2020 ironically against the other German team still in European competition, VfL Wolfsburg. Bayern ended their season as champions again and have a healthy three away goal lead against Chelsea. Chelsea played their last match over the weekend in the FA Cup final and the result wasn’t exactly a morale-boosting one for the English side as they lost the final. Bayern would be heavy favourites to go through but that long rest from competitive football could count against them as they lack match rhythm and fitness.
In the Europa League, Wolfsburg is chasing a first-leg 1–2 defeat at home to Ukrainian team, Shakthar Donestk. Shakthar last played a competitive fixture last week so in terms of match rhythm and fitness, they should be better placed than their German opponents. Shakthar has the benefit of two away goals as well. Eintracht Frankfurt is all but out after conceding three away goals to Swiss side, FC Basel. Of all teams, the Swiss side would have the least rest as they played their last league match yesterday. They would have a quick turnaround but the cushion of the three away goals from the first leg should be sufficient.
Bayer Leverkusen has three away goals from their first-leg against Scottish side, Glasgow Rangers. Rangers lost the first leg 1–3. Leverkusen ended their season in 5th place while the Scottish Premiership 2019–20 was called off due to Corona Virus. Season 2020–21 has just started in Scotland and Rangers has played one game so far. Both teams are thus in the opposite end of the spectrum. One that ended their season in June and the other that is one game old into a new season. The first leg win should hold Leverkusen in good stead while Rangers need to win by three clear goals to overturn the tie. On paper, it looks like a bridge too far for the Scottish outfit but their manager, Steven Gerrard would believe anything is possible having captained a team that clinched a remarkable come from behind Champions League final win.
The Spanish La Liga was the next league to end after Bundesliga. The last fixtures in Spain were played on the 19th and 20th of July. Real Madrid buoyed by winning the La Liga will be chasing a first-leg, 1–2 deficit against Manchester City. City’s last competitive match was played a week after Real but have the benefit of two away goals from the first leg. Would Real’s extra week of rest count in their favour or against them?
Real are newly crowned Spanish champions and their players would approach this game with a spring in their step. But it is not a Real team that can be considered as one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. City would fancy their chances against them but Real would know that they have a soft underbelly that can be exploited. Real has also developed a knack in their run to the La Liga of squeezing out wins so that mental toughness could go in their favour.
Barcelona has not had a good time recently. Their form has been patchy and they collapsed in the run-in to the La Liga. It doesn’t seem like a happy camp but they have got world-class players in their ranks to make a difference even on bad days. They will play against Italian side, Napoli who would feel confident having won the Coppa Italia and are in better form than when the first leg was played. They would hope that whatever issues Barcelona is facing behind the scenes between manager and players could go for them. The first leg ended 1–1 but Barcelona has the crucial away goal.
In the Europa League, Inter is one of the favourites to win the competition and finished Serie A in 2nd place. They would be favourites to beat Spanish side Getafe who have built a reputation of being a tough team to play against. The extra rest Getafe has over Inter could count in the Spanish side’s favour or not if that rest translates into rustiness. In the other Spain vs Italy tie in this competition, the most successful club in the history of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, Sevilla is playing against AS Roma. Sevilla ended their season in 4th place, qualifying for the Champions League while Roma finished in 5th. Due to Sevilla’s history in the competition and a better league finish, they would approach this match as slight favourites. But Roma has had a strong end to the season so they would feel quietly confident going into this game.
The English teams are next. Their last competitive matches were played on the 26th of July. I have already analysed the chances of Manchester City and Chelsea in the Champions League above. In the Europa League, Manchester United is seen as another of the favourites to win the tournament and come into this competition on very good form. They have the healthiest lead among between both competitions, five away goals against Austrian side LASK. On paper, it is a formality for United and they are expected to rest most of their main players for this match. The Austrian side last played on the 5th July and have a lot more rest than their English counterparts. If they believe in an unlikely deficit recovery, the rest they have coupled with United likely not fielding their best available team could work in their favour.
The other English team in this competition, Wolverhampton Wanderers didn’t end the season well, falling out of a European place that they held on for some time. They have the benefit of an away goal from their 1–1 first-leg draw in Greece against Olympiacos. The Greek team last played a competitive match a week before Wolves so they would have extra rest going into this game. They could also capitalise on probable low morale in the Wolves ranks as well to knock them out.
Looking outside of the big leagues, in the Europa League, Danish side, Copenhagen and Turkish champions, Istanbul Basaksehir ended their seasons in the same week. Istanbul has a slender 1–0 lead from the first-leg but will be on a high going into this game after they won the Turkish Super Lig for the first time in their history. Still all to play for here.
Exciting games to look forward to. I feel UEFA should consider this format from the quarter-final stage onwards for future editions of both competitions as it gives a real tournament feel to it. On their day, anyone can beat anyone. It makes it tricky and the likelihood of a shock result or surprise champion would increase too. Adds some romance and unpredictability to European football.
