UEFA CL Groups G-H: GOATS and Group of Death

The GOAT group: Group G will see the return of El Clásico. Or, well, sort of.

Because let’s face it, what made El Clásico so watchable was the Ronaldo/Messi showdown. It was the thrill of pitting against each other two of the best players in the world and see who would come on top.

And yet, football is a team sport, where letting one man run the show could jeopardize your chances of winning. Both Barcelona and Juventus paid the price for relying too much on strategies like Give the ball to the GOAT, and their last Champions League results are a testament to that.

You might be tempted to say that Ferencváros will be happy to receive Juventus and Barcelona in Budapest, but here is an interesting trivia: they won the 1964–65 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, against none other than Juventus, right in Turin.

They’re back in the groups for the first time since 1995-96, and while it may be crazy to put them over Dynamo Kyiv, I am going to do it. No guts, no glory.

Dynamo Kyiv have been in a rut for the last four years or so, and while Mircea Lucescu was appointed as manager in hopes of bringing them the same glory and Brazilian-style football he did to Shakhtar Donetsk (who are now screaming “Treason!”), for some reason, I don’t see them making too much of an impact in this group. Maybe it’s just because I’m too enamored with the Hungarian underdogs. Maybe I’m delusional.

As for Juventus and Barcelona, I can’t wait to see youngsters like Kulusevski and Ansu Fati shine, because better than seeing two GOATS approaching the end of their careers is seeing the next players who show they are worthy of taking on the mantle.

Too close to call who is going to finish first and who second (unless we’re in for a shocker!). Heart says Juventus, brain says Barcelona.

Predicted placements: 1) Barcelona 2) Juventus 3) Ferencváros 4) Dynamo Kyiv

Photo: Premier League

Group H is this year’s “Group of Death,” as PSG, Manchester United, and RB Leipzig have eliminated each other in these last two seasons.

Manchester United overturned in 2019 a 0-2 loss on home soil against PSG, to seal it in Paris with a dramatic penalty goal within the last minutes of the game, while this year, RB Leipzig had no answer to PSG’s offensive.

Still, for a team with a short football history (RB Leipzig was founded in 2009), their road to the semis was nothing short of impressive, getting through Tottenham and Atlético Madrid.

İstanbul Başakşehir is the dark horse of the group, winning the Turkish Süper Lig for the very first time, while also making the Champions League groups for the very first time.

With PSG, United, and RB Leipzig battling it out in a three-way, the general consensus is that İstanbul Başakşehir will be the team everybody will win points against.

But as we’ve seen in 2019 with Slavia Praha, they might go down, but not without a fight. And let’s not forget that last year, İstanbul Başakşehir finished first in a Europa League group also featuring AS Roma and Mönchengladbach, while also eliminating Sporting CP.

Predicted placements: 1) RB Leipzig 2) PSG 3) Manchester United 4) İstanbul Başakşehir

Article and pictures courtesy of Alexandra Fechete

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