Real Madrid: A preview of the Champions League group stage opponents
The UEFA Champions League is in its 66th edition, and draws for the group stage for the upcoming season are out. The record champions Real Madrid will be aiming to win their 14th title this season.
The group stage draws are out for the upcoming 2020-21 Champions League. Real Madrid is the most successful club in this competition. Every year they come with the same eagerness to clinch this title. This year it will the same passion and determination to grab this title for the 14th time (la décima catorce).
The Los Blancos are drawn with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in Group B. All these teams are challenging and they will be amaining to reach the knockout stage.
With no fans in the respective stadium, it might affect the results of some games but the temper will be the same among the players. Here I’ll analyze the group stage opponents of Real Madrid.
FC Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan)
Inter is the toughest group stage opponent for the Los Blancos. The Italian side will be looking for clinching the top spot in the group stage. They have an amazing team and some big names in their squad. The man in charge of Inter is Antonio Conte, he is has been astonishing over all these years, and he prefers playing attacking football.
The games will be played on the 4th of November and 26th of November. Playing at San Siro will be difficult for Real Madrid but with an advantage of closed doors. Inter will play an attacking game with amazing players like Romelu Lukaku, Christian Eriksen, Lautaro Martínez, and former Real Madrid full-back Achraf Hakimi.
It will be a huge task for Zidane to win these games against as he is still facing problems in finding more goals in the game and in games like this Real need to find goals or Milan will punish them by scoring more against them. This fixture is going to be the best one for Real in the group stage hope they manage to win this one.
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian giants who are drawn with Real in group B haven’t done there best in this competition in recent years but the new season comes new determination and goals. Shakhtar is the current champion of the Ukrainian Premier League and in this year’s Champion league edition, they will look to climb up and dream about the knockout stage.
The last time when these two sides met in this competition was back in 2015. It was a seven-goal thriller with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, and Dani Carvajal. This season Real will begin their campaign on the 21st of October against Shakhtar. And later in December, they will travel to Ukraine to face Shakhtar in Metalist stadium.
For Real, both games should be easy wins and must-wins if they want to finish on the top spot of the group stage. For Zidane, it’s an advantage that he rotates the squad in this game which will help him in the League as well but no team is weak in such huge competition. Real should not let those six points go away and fight for it.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Real Madrid and Borussia Mönchengladbach haven’t met in any competition in recent years. The last time these sides came together was back in 1985 where Real won the game by four goals to nil. This fixture will be a new experience for both sides. This is the first appearance of Mönchengladbach in the last four years in the Champions League.
The German stadiums have high attendance and their fans are amazing. This year due to the ongoing pandemic fans won’t be part of the game. This is an advantage for Real as the Mönchengladbach fans always create havoc in the stadium against all these huge clubs. The first game will take place in Mönchengladbach and the second one in Madrid.
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This Mönchengladbach fixture will be easy and must win like Shakhtar for Real as they want to keep the pressure on Inter Milan who will be fighting for the top spot with them. Real Madrid is still in a transition phase, winning the Champions League in this phase will be a huge achievement for the Zidane. Madrid and Zidane have great experience in this competition they will surely fight for their 14th title.