Every year, the Champions League is the most exciting soccer tournament in Europe. The biggest and most successful clubs of Europe compete to lift the European Cup. So far, this tournament has not disappointed the viewers; in fact, it has had the exact opposite effect.
The first, second, and third qualifying rounds went as usual, with the only interesting moment coming when Serbian club Red Star Belgrade progressed all the way from the first qualifying round, eventually reaching the group stage. The group stage proved to be much more entertaining than the qualifying rounds. Most groups had obvious winners, but the group with SSC Napoli, Liverpool, and Paris-Saint Germain was wide open. On the first matchday, Inter Milan managed a stunning comeback against Tottenham Hotspur, scoring two late goals to overturn a tie where they played poorly. Then, Liverpool won in a 3-2 thriller against Paris-Saint Germain, scoring a 91st-minute goal. Elsewhere, the reigning champions of England, Manchester City, somehow managed to lose to Lyon Olympique, 2-1 at home, and many started doubting their strength. Everywhere else, matches went as expected, except for perhaps SSC Napoli drawing 0-0 against the outsiders Red Star Belgrade.
On matchday two, Tottenham Hotspur continued their woes, getting demolished by the strength of FC Barcelona, and their hope of progressing to the knockout stages appeared to be rapidly disappearing. Real Madrid then proceeded to somehow lose 0-1 to CSKA Moscow, completely baffling the soccer world. The reigning Champions League Trophy holders, Real Madrid, never really looked to be in the game, and deservedly lost. Then, SSC Napoli beat Liverpool 1-0, putting Liverpool in a tough spot to qualify. On matchday three, Paris-Saint Germain drew in a very intense game 2-2 with SSC Napoli, and allowed themselves to keep their shot at qualification. Barcelona handily dispatched Inter Milan 2-0, securing their spot in the play-offs. Matchday four was marked with two upsets, the first coming when Liverpool absolutely bombed out and lost to Red Star Belgrade 0-2. The second surprise occurred when Manchester United scored two late goals to take out a seemingly unstoppable Juventus, winning 2-1. On the penultimate matchday, Paris-Saint Germain beat Liverpool in a very close game, 2-1, and essentially guaranteed themselves a place in the play-offs. Tottenham also beat Inter Milan 1-0, and gave themselves a slim chance at reaching the next round. The final matchday proved very interesting, with Inter Milan bottling their chance of progression by drawing with PSV Eindhoven, and Tottenham managing a draw with Barcelona. SSC Napoli wasn’t able to hold out, and promptly exited the competition at the hands of Liverpool. Finally, one of the most exciting games of the group stage ended up being AFC Ajax versus Bayern Munich, which ended 3-3 with two red cards. The 16 best teams then progressed to the knockout stages.
In the first leg of knockouts, Manchester United was destroyed by Paris-Saint Germain 2-0, and many considered the tournament over for them. Tottenham then promptly dispatched Borussia Dortmund 3-0, all the while looking very confident. Lyon and Barcelona played out a goalless draw on the same day as Liverpool and Bayern Munich, whose match also ended 0-0. One of the biggest matches of the group stage, Juventus v Atletico Madrid, turned out to be a very one-sided affair, and Atletico won 2-0. Perhaps the most interesting match was Manchester City and Schalke. Most experts thought that Manchester City would steamroll Schalke, yet it turned out to be a very tense affair, with Manchester City barely squeaking out a 3-2 victory AFC Ajax then lost to previous champions Real Madrid 1-2 in a very close game. The second leg brought more surprises. AFC Ajax “wiped the floor” with Real Madrid, winning 4-1, and Real Madrid looked poorer than ever before. Tottenham cooly beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0, in a fairly straightforward match. AS Roma, after winning the first leg 2-1 against Porto, lost in a tense affair thanks to a 117th minute penalty, bringing the score to 3-1 for Porto. The last match was Manchester United against Paris-Saint Germain. Nobody believed in Manchester United being able to overcome a two goal deficit away from home, especially considering that ten first team members were absent from Manchester United, forcing them to field 17- and 19-year-olds from the reserve team. In the end, the match turned out to be crazy, with both sides having good chances, but in the end, Manchester United won 3-1 thanks to a 95th-minute penalty. Paris-Saint Germain bottled another very good opportunity to progress to the Champions League quarter finals for the third year in a row. Overall, the Champions League so far has had many surprises, and will surely only get more interesting as it progresses