Barcelona on a picnic .. And the summit of Saint-Germain - Man United, the most prominent in the European Champions
The European Champions League football competition returns to the fore today with two summit matches: the first between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, and the second between Chelsea and Seville, Spain, in the first rounds of the group stage, about two months after the curtain fell on the marathon and exceptional version of last season due to the Corona virus Novelty.
The first round is also witnessing an important summit between Lazio of Italy and his guest, Borussia Dortmund, while Barcelona and Juventus of Italy are facing a relatively easy test against Hungarian Frantzvaruch and Dynamo Kiev in their quest to win the Group G cards.
Paris Saint-Germain has the opportunity to get rid of the shock of the shocking exclusion he suffered against Manchester United in the final price of the season before last when it hosts it on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes. Saint-Germain had received a terrible shock from the Red Devils when he appeared on his way to the quarter-finals after he beat They had to go 2-0 in Manchester, but Bremontada shocked his guests, who won 3-1 from three defensive errors, including a controversial stoppage-time penalty kick caused by his defender Pricnel Kempepe after the ball touched his hand inside the area.
And this year, Saint-Germain, who came out of the same round, also confirmed a historic Primontada against Barcelona in 2017 (winning 4-0 in the round and losing 1-6 on the way), that he had benefited from the lessons of turning the result, and tasted Borussia Dortmund (1-2 round) And 2 - zero back in the final price) and Italian Atalanta (overturning a 0-1 victory to a 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals) from the same cup on his way to the first final match in the history of his participation, which he narrowly lost to Bayern Munich, 0-1, on August 23. the past.
Saint-Germain is counting on its offensive weapons led by Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian Neymar, but the task will not be easy for United, who regained their balance in the league with a big victory over Newcastle 4-1 Saturday, especially in the absence of many of the French capital club's players, most notably the Spanish left-back Juan Bernat, Argentines Leandro Paredes and Mauro Icardi, German Tilo Kehrer and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.
United will also suffer from several absences, most notably the Uruguayan side, Edison Cavani, who was recently transferred from Saint-Germain in particular, in addition to defender Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Jesse Lingard and Ivory Coast defender Eric Bayi.
And Chelsea will play a difficult match against its guest, Seville, European League champion, "Europa League", in the top of Group E.
The London defense will be the biggest concern for coach Frank Lampard after he has shaken his net nine times in the five matches he has played so far, with an average of 1.8 goals per match, including a hat-trick in his disappointing draw against Southampton (3-3) when he failed to maintain his 2-0 lead. .
Lampard expressed his dissatisfaction with the many goals that enter his team's goal, and said, "We are witnessing a lot of goals throughout the league and there is no happy coach," adding, "I do not know the reason for that. Perhaps insufficient preparations before the start of the season and the lack of work time play a role. But we must. To get better in the defense field. "
Lampard has not yet succeeded in putting his team on the path of victories, despite the many contracts he made this summer in all lines, amounting to 242 million euros, starting with Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendi, through defenders Ben Chilwell and Brazilian Thiago Silva, and Moroccan midfield players Hakim Ziyech and German Kai Havertz. To the last citizen striker Timo Werner.
Lampard restored the services of his American midfield players Christian Pulisic and Moroccan Hakim Ziyech after recovering from injuries, as the first played 87 minutes of the match against Southampton, while the second played its last 20 minutes.
Certainly, Lampard will work to correct the mistakes of his defense line, as Seville has lethal weapons in the offensive line, led by the Dutchman Luc de Jong, the Moroccans Mounir Al-Haddadi, Youssef Al-Nusiri and the Argentine Lucas Ocampos.
Juventus without Ronaldo
Juventus will be a guest at Dynamo Kiev in Group G, in the absence of its Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is infected with the new Corona virus.
It was announced that Ronaldo was infected with "Covid-19" while he was in his country's camp last week in the framework of participating in the European Nations League, which may prevent his participation in the second round against Barcelona, which hosts Francesfaruch.
The match will be the first experience for Bianconeri coach Andrea Pirlo Garia, and it will also be a confrontation with his veteran former Romanian coach Mercia Lucescu, who gave him his first chance to participate in the Italian league when he was only sixteen years old when he received the technical management of Brescia.
"He was amazing, mature as he is now," Lucescu said of Pirlo.
Juventus enters the match after stumbling in front of its newly arrived host Crotone in the top flight, 1-1 Saturday, but is well aware that wasting a point against the Ukrainian team may make it difficult for him to compete with the Catalan club at the top of the group.
Barcelona to reconcile its fans
Barcelona will try to reconcile its fans by achieving a strong start in the competition that has eluded him in the last five years, and which was left by the last dealer with a humiliating and historic loss to Bayern Munich 2-8 in the quarter-finals.
The humiliating exit led to the dismissal of his coach, Quique Setien, and the contract with Dutchman Ronaldo Koeman, who, with the administration, revolutionized the squad by excluding veteran stars who, until last season, caused the achievements of the Catalan club locally, led by Uruguayan Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Chilean Arturo Vidal And Nelson Semedo, the Portuguese.
Barcelona is also seeking to return to the winning streak after suffering its first loss this season to its host Getafe, 0-1, on Saturday in the League.
Dortmund counting on Haaland Resolve
Borussia Dortmund guest of Lazio, returning to the prestigious continental competition after an absence of 12 years.
Veteran Swiss coach Lucien Favre continues what he started last season with his young Norwegian player Erling Haaland upon reaching the final price in a plan that aims to go further.
The twenty-year-old continues his scoring distinction, after ending last season with 44 goals with Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund in all competitions, he started his current season with five goals in the League and Cup competitions, in addition to six goals he scored for his country in the Nations League competition.
Lazio does not look the way it was last season when he finished fourth with scorer Ciro Immobili, the European Golden Boot with 36 goals, as he suffers after winning only one match for two losses and one draw, and his star has only scored one goal.
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