4. RB Salzburg
RB Salzburg is a Feeder Club, which is a team that develops young football talents from throughout the world and then sells them to bigger elites when they reach the spotlight. The most recent of these stars is none other than Erling Haaland, who has taken the world by storm and quickly established himself as the finest young player today.
In mid-February, the Austrian club invited the German champions Bayern Munich to their home for the first leg of the round of 16 and surprisingly, gave a tough fight to the guests. The young manager Matthias Jaissle deployed his men in a diamond which was very capable of troubling Julian Nagelsmann, another young manager experienced in handling an RB team.
Early in the game, the hosts stunned Bayern, scoring and making them feel Manuel Neuer’s absence down to the last atom, but just as it looked like Salzburg were going to make history, Kingsley Coman stepped on and ruined the dream with his 90th-minute equaliser.
Even though the Austrian club had a good portion of the game’s control, their confidence is likely to be shaken when they travel to Munich for the second round, where Bayern will have an advantage in showing their robust nature and an upper hand in knocking the youthful squad out of the Champions League.
3. Inter Milan
Inter Milan and the Champions League do not appear to go together over a previous couple of seasons, with the worst instance being when the Italian club did not even make it out of the group stage, conversely going all the way down and not even being good enough to compete in the Europa League.
The latest Champions League encounter with Liverpool FC is bringing the club flashbacks of getting thrown out early in the tournament once again, with the blues behind by two goals against a magnificent Liverpool side.
The Nerazzurri were plainly unable to connect with Liverpool’s effort during the encounter, albeit there were moments when they tormented Jurgen Klopp’s men but in vain. The squad lacked in the final third, as a consequence of which none of the chances produced was converted, resulting in the defeat. At the same time, Inter’s defence seemed to be wrecked, allowing Liverpool to take advantage of several opportunities and score twice.
The two teams meet for the second leg at Anfield, where the supporter environment will add to Inter Milan’s weight of covering up their two-goal margin, making it exceedingly improbable that the Italian club will advance.