A complete guide for UCL (2019-20) you would love to read!

UEFA Champions League

The most sought-after trophy by the European clubs which makes them – Champions of Europe. Also known as the European Cup, this takes place every year and is contested by top-division European clubs. There’s bonus info which you might have not heard of before, so please read the whole content 😊

UCL Format

The Prelims of a fresh season starts as early as June with three qualifiers and a playoff round to decide the 6 teams that join hands with the other qualified 26 teams (based on the national leagues, national cups, etc.,). So, a total of 32 teams will be drawn into 8 groups of 4 from which only 2 teams per group qualify for the Round of 16.

The competition gets fierce in the Round of 16 stages and each team is drawn with the other by conducting a draw. The teams get to play 2 legs, one each in their home grounds, and 8 teams with a higher aggregate score over the other qualify for the Last 8 which is nothing but the quarter-finals.

Here too the teams to battle for glory are decided based on UCL’s draw and will be conducted in the same format as the Round of 16. Four teams with better aggregate go on to play the semis which is also of 2 legs and the better 2 teams get to play in the finals.

UCL’s final is every club’s dream and being there representing your club is one of a kind. This is usually played as a single leg and the winner gets to grab the trophy.

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UCL History

Since the commencement of the league from 1955, the UCL has been won by 22 different clubs out of which 12 teams have went on to win more than once with Real Madrid FC being the most successful club winning 13 times so far. The defending champions, Liverpool FC beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the trophy last season (2018-2019) but unfortunately beaten by Athletico Madrid in the Round of 16 this year.

2019-2020 Quarter Finals

The traditional schedule of each and every happening in this world has been disrupted and UCL is one amongst those. The Round of 16 concluded yesterday and we now have 8 teams to clash for their semi-final spot. Let’s take a look at how the teams have fared in the tournament so far and the potential semifinalists with only one leg to be played.

Atalanta vs Paris

With their stars players Mbappe and Veratti out of the clash against Atalanta, PSG will look forward to Neymar to play an attacking game and win the match for them. Atalanta’s form in their recent form proves to us that they are not the potential threat to PSG but what happens on the matchday (Aug 12,2020) is what we’re looking forward to!

RB Leipzig vs Atletico Madrid

RB Leipzig lost their key player Timo Werner as he was handed a transfer to Chelsea a while ago. But who knows what these underdogs can do against Simeone’s ATM who have 6 clean sheets following the restart in June. This will be a clash against an attacking team vs the defending team and Diego Simeone has come out of his nightmare of being eliminated by a team in which Ronaldo plays 😜

Manchester City vs Olympique Lyonnais

Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect this fixture to happen in Lisbon, Portugal. What Ronaldo fans wanted was a reunion between him and Real Madrid in the UCL but as things went the other way with Manchester City and OL winning with higher aggregate and away goal advantage resp. As most of the potential winners have left the tournament at different stages, there is a high expectation on ManC to lift the trophy this season and we’ll know it later this month! Not to forget the underdogs – seventh placed in Ligue 1 – who could be this year’s Ajax FC.

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

The most in-form team Bayern Munich with the likes of Lewandowski, Muller, Gnabry, and co have gelled well since the restart and are capable of winning the treble (Bundesliga + DFB Pokal + UCL) this season. If they win the cup, this will be their first since the 2012-13 season. Only FC Barcelona has won 2 trebles and they stand in Bayern’s way to achieve what they deserve. This will be one of the highly awaited and most anticipated matches in the Last 8 stages.

Bonus Content

From 2021, teams not eligible for the UEFA Europa League will qualify for a new third-tier competition called the UEFA Europa Conference League [UECL]. The competition will primarily be contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations. No teams will qualify directly, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League [UEL] play-offs and the rest coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers. UCL will always serve as the first tier competition.

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