Tag: UEFA Champions League

Lenny Kravitz rocks Wembley with pregame show at the Champions League final

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LONDON — Europe’s biggest club soccer game got a taste of America when rocker Lenny Kravitz performed at Wembley Stadium before kickoff at the Champions League final on Saturday.

The 60-year-old Kravitz performed shortened versions of three songs in a six-minute set in the center of the field before Real Madrid played Borussia Dortmund.

Kravitz, whose daughter is actress Zoë Kravitz, began with “Fly Away” and finished with “Are you Gonna Go My Way.”

Kravitz was honored in March with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Rapper and music producer Jay-Z was also on hand at Wembley.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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June 1, 2024
Champions League is being expanded, but Italy and Germany will benefit over England next season

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MANCHESTER, England — Germany has beaten the English Premier League to a bonus fifth Champions League place in next season’s revamped and expanded competition.

Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their semifinal first leg on Wednesday confirmed Germany would join Italy in being granted an extra berth.

It had largely been assumed England would secure a bonus spot, given its recent success in Europe, including having Champions League winners in three of the last five seasons.

But Dortmund’s win means Germany can’t be caught in UEFA’s ranking system by England, which has only Aston Villa still playing.

The fifth spots were based on performances from each country this season in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

It means three-time European Cup winner Manchester United will miss out on next season’s Champions League.

Villa and Tottenham — competing for fourth place in the Premier League — also know there will be no back door entry to the biggest stage in Europe.

Villa, England’s only remaining team in Europe, has advanced to the semifinals of the Conference League. But even if Villa goes on to win the third-tier competition, it cannot amass enough points for England to overtake Germany, which still has two teams in the Champions League and one in the Europa League.

UEFA’s ranking system gives points for each game a team wins or draws in European competition, with bonuses attached to advancing to different stages.

Since 2005, England would have qualified for a fifth place in the Champions League in 14 of 19 seasons. And despite having finalists in five of the past six editions, English teams’ disappointing performances this season have wrecked their chances of an extra place.

Man United and Newcastle failed to advance from the group stage, and Manchester City’s quarterfinal loss to Real Madrid was the defending champion’s earliest exit from the competition in four years.

In the Europa League, Liverpool was surprisingly eliminated by Atalanta in the quarterfinals.

In contrast, German teams have excelled. Bayern Munich and Dortmund have reached the semifinals of the Champions League and Bayer Leverkusen is into the last four of the Europa League.

Dortmund, fifth in the Bundesliga, guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League by beating PSG.

Roma is currently fifth in Italy.

The Champions League is expanding from 32 to 36 teams next season to allow for a new league phase that will replace the existing group stage.

Via a seeding system, teams will be drawn to play against eight opponents home and away in one league format.

The top eight teams will advance to the round of 16. Teams that finish from ninth to 24th will face a two-leg playoff in order to advance.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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May 2, 2024
A tearful Romelu Lukaku opens up about his rise from poverty to the Champions League final | CNN

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CNN
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Every time Romelu Lukaku scores, he thinks of his grandfather who passed away when he was 12, four years before he made his professional debut for Belgian club Anderlecht as a talented 16-year-old.

“I promised (him) that I would look after my mum, when I was 12, I did that. So every time when I look at my mum and I see her in the stands, I look at him after every goal,” Lukaku tells CNN Senior Sport Analyst Darren Lewis, pointing towards the sky, emotion crackling through every syllable. “And I say, I did it.”

Lukaku has scaled some of soccer’s highest heights – he is Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer, has won the FA Cup with Chelsea, the Serie A title with Inter Milan, and will now play in the Champions League final for Inter Milan on June 10 – but all that pales in comparison to looking after his family.

“It doesn’t matter, wins or losses, I take it in my stride, this is real family issues. So (my grandfather) meant the world to me,” he says, his voice breaking as he is unable to hold back the tears.

Playing in a Champions League is the pinnacle for any player in club soccer and when asked what this moment would mean to his grandfather, Lukaku is almost unable to answer.

“A lot,” he says, before pausing to collect his thoughts and attempt to express almost two decades of emotion as words. “When I see my son, I see so much of him…My grandfather, for me was my number one. He was my biggest fan.”

As a child growing up in Belgium, Lukaku missed 10 years of watching the Champions League. His family couldn’t afford it. Instead, he would watch the finals on school computers or pretend to his classmates that he had seen them, he recalls smiling and shaking his head.

In a Players’ Tribune article published in 2018, he wrote about his family’s poverty, remembering that his mother used to add water to milk to make it last longer.

“I couldn’t watch (the Champions League final), but now, by the grace of God, I can play one,” he adds. “To be in this position now, to have my family there, it would be a beautiful thing because then it’s like (full circle).”

On loan from Chelsea, Lukaku returned to Inter Milan in June 2022 for a second stint at the Italian club, after a period playing there between 2019 and 2021.

Inter’s experiences together during the Covid-19 pandemic, Lukaku says, solidified a “brotherhood” between the players, many of whom still form the core of the team.

“It was an emotional time because we really as a team, we spent so much time together,” he says. “At that time I really spent much more time with my teammates than with my oldest son…playing a game, going back to the hotel, staying in the room, watching games together, stuff like that.”

That bond, in some ways, emulates the spirit of the 2010 Inter Milan squad that completed an unprecedented treble, winning the Serie A title, Coppa Italia, and the Champions League.

“It’s very similar,” Lukaku says. “And to be honest, the funny thing is a lot of those players from that 2010 band, they come and watch our games and they feel the same thing.”

Inter Milan emerged from one of this year’s most difficult Champions League groups, also containing Bayern Munich and Barcelona, before defeating Porto, Benfica and crosstown rival AC Milan on route to the final.

But it faces the toughest opposition of all next weekend. Manchester City has swept all before it in a light blue wave this season and sits on the cusp of a ‘treble,’ fresh from winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

“It’s a beautiful thing, playing probably against the best team in the world. I just want to enjoy it, not having pressure, just enjoy the moment, enjoy the buildup, go there to have the best result possible,” Lukaku says.

Spearheading City’s attack is striker Erling Haaland who has enjoyed a record-breaking season, seemingly scoring goals at will, at a pace never seen before in the Premier League.

“I think he will dominate, with Mbappé, world football for the next 10 years. They will be fighting from the new generation…They will really take over (from Messi and Ronaldo) in the next two years.”

It is not just Haaland who will pose a threat to Inter Milan next weekend for City is a team stacked full of superstars.

“Man City is a well-drilled team…Guardiola is such a good coach because every game is a different game plan,” Lukaku observes.

“It’s not the same. They have different patterns every game… And you know (Haaland) with these movements and the way how they open defenses up at the end, he will get those chances because those movements and the patterns that they do, they synchronize very well.”

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June 4, 2023
El Clásico: The latest edition of the historic rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid could decide the league title | CNN

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CNN
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Every edition of El Clásico is loaded with its own storylines, each strand adding another layer to the historic rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Described by La Liga as a “true cultural phenomenon, drawing the attention of millions of fans worldwide,” Sunday’s match at Barça’s Camp Nou stadium will be with fraught with significance, for the result could all but settle the title race.

A win for Barça would open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table, making the league title a high probability, if not quite a mathematical certainty, while a win for Real Madrid would keep the race alive with 12 matches remaining after Sunday’s game.

Los Blancos will travel to Camp Nou buoyed by defeating Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday to seal their place in the Champions League quarterfinals with an aggregate 6-2 victory.

Vinícius Jr, who was dubbed “the best in the world” by Real coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday, excelled in that victory, creating the only goal of the game for Karim Benzema, and his battle with Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo could be key to deciding El Clásico.

“He’s struggled a bit more in recent games, but Viní Jr. is always Viní Jr,” Ancelotti said on Saturday, according to the Real’s website.

“His mobility gives us so much, I’m thinking about putting him on the right because he’s capable, but we’ll see. That freedom and playing without a fixed reference point could be crucial.

“It’s another problem for the defenders. I’m kidding about him playing on the right … he’ll be on the left but with greater freedom.”

Benzema, another pillar of Real’s attack, will play on Sunday despite suffering a knock during the week, Ancelotti said.

While Benzema will take to the field for Los Blancos, Barça will be without Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé due to injury, two of its most impressive players this season.

La Blaugrana has already defeated Real Madrid twice this year, back in January to win the Spanish Super Cup final and in March to take a 1-0 lead in their Copa del Rey semifinal. The return match is at the Camp Nou on April 5.

However, Real did triumph in the league game back in October at the Bernabéu, Ancelotti’s team winning El Clásico 3-1.

Barça coach Xavi downplayed any notion that his team was the favorite to win Sunday’s game.

“They’re strong. Very strong, recently,” Xavi said, according to Barça’s website. “They’re physically much better than they were in January. I’m sure they’ll put our defense under pressure.”

“This Madrid team is the European champion and they won the last league comfortably. It’ll be a tight game, and I say we have a 50% chance.”

It has been a lopsided season for Real, lagging behind Barça in La Liga and facing that 1-0 deficit in their Copa del Rey semifinal, but remaining on track to defend its Champions League title.

Before Sunday’s match, Ancelotti addressed speculation about his future at the club, saying he “would stay at this club for the rest of my life but that’s impossible,” adding hat it’s “a decision for the club to make.”

“If they want me for three months, I’ll make the most of it and the same goes as if they want me for three years … Anyway, I’m certain we’ll win something this season and that will put the doubts at rest. We’re at a disadvantage in the Copa and La Liga but that’s not the case in the Champions League.”

Barça, meanwhile, once again fell short in Europe, failing to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League and losing to Manchester United in the Europa League, while the club is also embroiled in a referee payment scandal.

“”We are just focused on competing,” Xavi said on Saturday. “We try to keep natural with the players and not get distracted by all that can happen at a club like this.”

El Clásico will kick off at 4pm ET on Sunday afternoon at Camp Nou, Barcelona. It is available to watch on the following channels:

Australia: Optus

Canada: TSN, RDS

Brazil: Star+, ESPN

UK: Premier Sports, La Liga TV, ITV

US: ESPN

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March 18, 2023
PSG facing familiar Champions League fate after first-leg defeat against Bayern Munich | CNN

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CNN
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It may be the start of a new knockout phase in the Champions League, but it looks to be the same story for Paris Saint-Germain.

The French side has failed to progress beyond the round of 16 four times in the last six seasons and could be facing the same fate this year after a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes.

Kingsley Coman, who also condemned PSG to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League final two and a half years ago, scored the only goal of Tuesday’s game in the French capital, putting Bayern in control of the tie ahead of the second leg in Munich on March 8.

The German champion controlled possession for most of the contest and saw that dominance rewarded early in the second half when Coman, unmarked in the PSG box, volleyed Alphonso Davies’ cross under Gianluigi Donnarumma.

PSG responded by bringing on star striker Kylian Mbappé, who had been carrying a thigh injury ahead of the game.

Pushing for an equalizer, Mbappé, the top scorer in the Champions League this season, used his pace to get behind the Bayern defensive line but had a shot saved by the face of goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

He then had the ball in the net minutes later, only for the video assistant referee to rule that Nuno Mendes was offside in the build-up.

By now, PSG had started to come alive and Mendes was proving a lively presence on the left wing. With six minutes remaining, the Portuguese international evaded Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich and found Lionel Messi free in the box, but a brilliant block from Benjamin Pavard denied the equalizer.

As the chances kept coming for PSG, Pavard was red carded after receiving a second yellow card for a late challenge on Messi. Although it made no difference to the scoreline, it does mean the defender will miss the second leg in Munich in three weeks’ time.

“We said we had to take the positives, it’s a two-legged tie,” Mbappé told reporters after the game. “We can’t change what happened in the first leg. We will go there to qualify. We know that there is a possibility. There is always a good possibility to qualify.”

While the defeat conjured up memories of PSG’s past shortcomings in the Champions League, fans did also get a glimpse into the future with Warren Zaïre-Emery becoming the youngest player to start a knockout stage game in the competition at the age of 16 years and 343 days.

The midfielder was born in 2006, more than a year after the 35-year-old Messi made his Champions League debut.

After defeats against Marseille and Monaco, PSG has now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2020 and faces Lille in the league on Sunday in a bid to get its season back on track.

Bayern, meanwhile, has won all seven of its Champions League games this season and will feel confident about reaching the quarterfinals ahead of the second leg.

“Overall, we did a good job,” said manager Julian Nagelsmann. “We’ve taken the first step and want to follow it up by taking the second.”

In Tuesday’s other Champions League game, AC Milan defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the San Siro thanks to Brahim Díaz’s early goal, giving the Italian side the advantage in its bid to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.

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February 15, 2023
Morocco’s big moment: The Club World Cup might be an afterthought for Europe, but it’s the Holy Grail for the rest of the world | CNN

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CNN
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Less than six weeks after the national team’s remarkable performance at the World Cup, Morocco finds itself at the center of world soccer as it hosts the FIFA Club World Cup.

Since 2005 the Club World Cup has been held annually, featuring the six winners of each continent’s equivalent to Europe’s Champions League tournament, plus an additional club from the host nation.

Over the last decade, European teams have dominated the tournament, last losing a match when Brazilian club Corinthians beat Chelsea in the 2012 final. Fourteen-time European Cup winner Real Madrid will enter the 2023 competition as heavy favorites.

Unlike the World Cup where there is a group stage, the clubs play a straight knockout tournament with the caveat that various continents qualify for different stages of the tournament.

The champion of Oceania plays the host club in the first round. The winner is then drawn with the champions of Africa, Asia and North America in two knockout games. The winner of each game then plays the European and South American champions in the semifinals.

Because Wydad Casablanca is both the champion of Morocco and Africa, the role of “host” passes to Egyptian club Al Ahly who lost to the Moroccan team in the final of the African Champions League in May.

Wydad enters the tournament at the quarterfinal stage, playing against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia with South American champion Flamengo waiting in the semifinals.

Hunting a record fifth title, Real Madrid also enters at the semifinal stage and will face either New Zealand club Auckland City, Al Ahly, or the Seattle Sounders – the first ever US club to play in the Club World Cup.

No African club has ever won the Club World Cup, but Wydad fan Mohamed Berrada is confident that in a tournament on home soil, the team can channel the success of its history-making national side – and perhaps even lift the trophy.

“We had a very good World Cup with the national team in Qatar,” Berrada tells CNN Sports. “Everybody is talking about us, and we know that we will be very followed in this Club World Cup.”

Expectations are high for the club with tickets for Wydad’s first match against Al Hilal selling out in under two hours as fans from Casablanca will make the one hour journey to Rabat’s 53,000 capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Fans who regularly watch the English Premier League, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League could be forgiven for asking the question: who cares about the Club World Cup? The European teams nearly always win, it adds extra fixtures to an already busy calendar, and fans have to watch their team play in far-flung countries.

That sentiment is shared by some players. Manchester United great Paul Scholes once said on BBC Radio Five Live that the Club World Cup was less important to him than his local badminton tournament.

But take a step outside Europe and the perception of the competition is very different.

Flamengo fan João Paulo still views his team’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool in 1981 in the Intercontinental Cup – a precursor to the Club World Cup – as the greatest moment in the club’s history.

Despite Europe’s dominance in the tournament, it is still taken just as seriously in Brazil as it was 40 years ago.

In 1981 Paulo listened to the match against Liverpool on the radio; in 2019, he made the trip to Qatar where Flamengo lost against the same opponent, and this year he is one of thousands of Flamengo fans making the trip to Morocco.

“I believe that for us, for Brazilian and for South American supporters, winning the [Club] World Cup is something incredible. It’s amazing,” he tells CNN Sports.

“If we win this or if any team from South America can win this, this would be something that would change your life as a supporter.”

It’s a sentiment is not limited to South America.

Pitso Mosimane, who took Egyptian giants Al Ahly to back-to-back bronze medals in 2020 and 2021 and is arguably Africa’s greatest coach in the modern era, says the Club World Cup was the “highlight” of his career.

“It’s the pinnacle of any club coach,” he tells CNN Sport.s “What’s the biggest tournament you want to play? Some would say the Champions League, but the Champions League leads you to the Club World Cup.”

For Mosimane and others, the Club World Cup is the one chance that players, coaches, and fans get to test themselves against the very best.

And even in a format that Mosimane says loads the dice in favour of Europeans and South American teams by allowing them to enter at the semifinals, the Club World Cup is the opportunity for fans of the Sounders, Al Ahly, Wydad and even Auckland City to earn the respect that Real Madrid has by dint of its geography.

Those “loaded dice” are potentially on their last roll as Morocco’s tournament is the final Club World Cup to be held in its current format.

Perhaps lost amidst the hysteria of Lionel Messi winning his first World Cup title was the announcement made by FIFA president Gianni Infantino that the Club World Cup would be turned into a 32-team tournament played every four years, starting in 2025.

It is recognition from the head of world soccer that the tournament has not drawn the interest that the concept warrants.

With the tournament falling at the same time as the major leagues in Europe and just a few weeks ahead of the resumption of the Champions League, FIFA has recognized that it needs to both expand the tournament and find a time that does not clash with major club soccer.

Soccer’s global governing body has not provided any information on the format of the tournament beyond the number of participants, but the announcement has caused quite a stir, particularly in Europe.

The Premier League maintains its position that it is, “committed to preventing any radical changes to the post-2024 FIFA international match calendar that would adversely affect player welfare and threaten the competitiveness, calendar, structures and traditions of domestic football.”

FIFPRO, the global player’s union, said that the tournament could have “serious consequences for and aggravate pressure on the welfare and employment of players.”

However, Infantino’s idea has traction outside of Europe.

“We would love to see our team playing against more and more international teams,” says Berrada.

Moroccan journalist Amine El Amri agrees, bemoaning the “frustrating” model of the tournament now that gives the Europeans and South Americans an advantage over the other continents.

He tells CNN Sports: “I think it’s just so enchanting for the people of those countries to have their countries in a [Club] World Cup.”

Even in an expanded format, European clubs would arrive as heavy favorites and there are very real concerns about player welfare as the global soccer calendar mercilessly fills up.

But for those outside of Europe, an expanded Club World Cup, if organized properly, is a potential opportunity for those seen as second-class clubs to take their place alongside European clubs at the top table of world soccer.

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February 1, 2023
Real Madrid draws Liverpool in the Champions League last-16 stage | CNN

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CNN
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Real Madrid drew Liverpool in the Champions League round-of-16 stage on Monday in a rematch of last season’s final.

Los Blancos beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris in May to win their 14th European Cup.

The 2022 final was overshadowed by chaos outside the stadium and there was widespread criticism towards the treatment of fans at the hands of the French authorities deployed for the game in May.

Monday’s draw also pitted Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich against each other.

The Parisians finished second in their group behind Benfica after the final matchday and must now face the team that beat them in PSG’s only ever final appearance in 2020.

Elsewhere Antonio Conte will return to Italy to face AC Milan with his Tottenham Hotspur side while Chelsea will take on Borussia Dortmund.

Pep Guardiola will continue his pursuit of the Champions League trophy that has eluded him for 11 years as his Manchester City side face off against German’s RB Leipzig.

The draw is likely to please Real Madrid President Florentino Perez who recently complained about how infrequently top teams in football face each other and said midweek European competition should offer fans matches between “the strongest teams and with the best players in the world” throughout the year.

“If we look at the last Champions League finalists, Liverpool, a historic team with six European Cups, it turns out that we have played them only nine times in 67 years.”

If Real and Liverpool will play for a 10th time in 2023, the two teams have met twice in the final of the competition in the last five seasons with the Spanish side coming out on top both times.

Real also beat Liverpool over two legs in the 2020/21 season as well and have not lost a match to the Reds in their previous six meetings.
That last victory came in the round of 16 on a famous night at Anfield in in 2009 when Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres inspired the home side to a 4-0 win.

Real will be favorites to reach the quarterfinals given’s Liverpool’s stuttering start to the season – Jurgen Klopp’s team is well off the pace in the Premier League title race – while the European Cup holder has won their Champions League group with ease and is already in control in La Liga.

The first legs are scheduled for 14/15/21/22 February, with the second legs on 7/8/14/15 March.

Champions League last-16 draw:

Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich

Inter Milan vs FC Porto

Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli!

AC Milan vs Tottenham

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

Club Brugge vs Benfica

RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

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November 7, 2022
Tottenham, Frankfurt advance in CL; Bayern stays perfect

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On a topsy-turvy night, Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt both came from behind to win their respective games and secure their places in the last 16 of the Champions League.

At halftime in the final round of group matches on Tuesday, Marseille and Sporting Lisbon were going through from Group D.

But instead it was their opponents which progressed as a stoppage-time winner from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg saw Tottenham beat Marseille 2-1 to top the group and Frankfurt won by the same score in Lisbon to secure second spot on its Champions League debut.

The top two finishers in the other groups on Tuesday had already been decided, although not necessarily the order.

Porto beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 to snatch top spot in Group B after Club Brugge was held to a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.

Napoli kept hold of first place in Group A despite dropping its first points in the Champions League this season in a 2-0 loss at second-place Liverpool.

Bayern Munich did manage to progress with a perfect record as it beat Inter Milan 2-0 to make it six wins out of six. The four places in Group C had already been decided with Inter having secured second spot ahead of Barcelona.

FINAL DAY DRAMA

In a rare occurrence for a group, all four teams had entered the final round of games with a chance to advance.

And which teams would go through and in what order changed several times over the night.

But Højbjerg scored with the last kick of the game at Stade Velodrome for a goal that lifted Tottenham to the top of Group D above Frankfurt, which was in first place until the Denmark midfielder’s goal.

That goal also meant Marseille finished in last place and will have no involvement in European competition in the new year.

Clement Lenglet had headed in the equalizer for Tottenham in the 54th minute after a woeful first half from the English side which didn’t have a touch in the opposition penalty box before the break. Tottenham had fallen behind on the stroke of halftime when Chancel Mbemba headed in a corner.

Frankfurt also came from behind, with Kolo Muani scoring a 72nd-minute winner for the visitors. Arthur Gomes had put the hosts ahead in the 39th and Frankfurt equalized with a penalty kick converted by Daichi Kamada in the 62nd.

NO CONSOLATION

Atlético Madrid doesn’t even have the consolation of the Europa League playoffs.

The Spanish team was the heavy favorite to progress from its group but was left lamenting a last-place finish after losing at Porto, which secured top spot in Group B.

Few expected Porto to even advance after losing its first two Champions League matches this season but the Portuguese team had already secured its place in the last 16 with a match to spare.

And first-half goals from Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustáquio helped Porto win its fourth straight Champions League match to finish a point above Brugge.

Brugge’s Canadian winger Tajon Buchanan hit the crossbar in the opening seconds of the second half.

PERFECT AGAIN

It’s back-to-back perfect group stage records for Bayern.

Benjamin Pavard headed the German side in front in the first half and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting sealed the win against Inter in the 72nd minute with his seventh goal in his past six matches.

Barcelona ended its disappointing Champions League campaign with a 4-2 win at Viktoria Plzeň, which — in contrast to Bayern — fell to its sixth straight defeat.

Ferran Torres scored twice and Marcos Alonso and teenager Pablo Torre grabbed a goal each for the Catalan club. The hosts got on the board with a pair of goals by Tomás Chorý.

NOT SO PERFECT

Napoli was looking to become the first Italian team since AC Milan in 1992 to have six straight wins in its group.

However, late goals from Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez ended the Italian side’s unbeaten start to the season in all competitions.

Liverpool finished level on points with Napoli but second on the head-to-head record after losing 4-1 in Italy in their Champions League opener.

Rangers was left with an unwanted record after losing 3-1 at home to Ajax, which secured a place in the Europa League’s qualifying playoffs.

Rangers finished Group A with six straight losses and a goal difference of minus 20 — the worst group stage record ever.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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November 1, 2022
Milan’s Poor Champions League Record Indicative Of Lack Of Quality

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MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 11: Olivier Giroud of AC Milan reacts after a missed chance during the UEFA … [+] Champions League group E match between AC Milan and Chelsea FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on October 11, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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It didn’t make for great reading from a Milan perspective, and it wasn’t the fact that they lost yet again to Chelsea, without putting up much of a challenge. No, it was the fact that since returning to the elite European stage at the beginning of last season, the seven-time winners of the Champions League have won only two games from 10 attempts.

That’s simply not good enough.

A case could be argued in Milan’s defence last season, considering the nature of their group. Drawn in a tough group against Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Porto, the odds were stacked against Milan to get through.

Many would’ve fancied them to beat Porto home and away, yet in the end it didn’t work out that way. Milan’s only victory came away in Madrid, they were easily swatted aside by Liverpool’s B-side and Porto took four points from them in their two back-to-back encounters.

Milan finished bottom of the group, not even dropping into the Europa League. In hindsight, that did them a favour, as they focused solely on winning their first league title for 11 years, with the distraction of Europe void.

This season Milan were supposed to do better. Bolstered by their experience from last season, in addition to new signings such as Charles De Ketelaere and Divock Origi, this season Milan would do better, win more games, improve in Europe.

So far that hasn’t been the case.

After four games they’ve still only won once — a 3-1 home win against Dinamo Zagreb — and were humbled twice by Chelsea, with the latest game a show of just how behind Milan are in comparison to some of the best sides in Europe.

Yes, the second Chelsea game was conditioned by the somewhat harsh red card for Fikayo Tomori in the opening 20 minutes, but it was his initial mistake, allowing Mason Mount to get goal side, that forced Tomori into making the contact in the first place.

From there, Olivier Giroud missed a glorious chance that nine times out of 10 he would’ve put away. Yet this was the 10^th time, and his header flashed over the bar, and from there Milan were as good as done. They offered little in attack and already had the mind set of using the red card as justification for a mediocre performance, despite being in front of 75,000 bristling Milanisti.

Chelsea essentially coasted 5-0 over the two games and, it leaves Milan needing to win both of their remaining games against Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg in order to qualify for the knockout rounds. If Milan are to grow as a club and bring in more revenue, they simply need to win both games. Destiny is still in their own hands, but whether they can actually win both games, particularly the difficult away trip to Zagreb, is up for debate.

And it speaks to a wider concern that many of Milan’s players have reached their ceiling. Like in all facets of life, there are levels and for many of this Milan team, playing in the Champions League is simply a step too far for some of them.

Milan’s strategy of finding young talent and building them only works to a point, there must come a time when they sign ready-made stars. Moreover, for every Rafael Leao, who is now developing into a major star, there’s a Rade Krunic, Junior Messias, Alexis Saelemaekers and Fode Ballo-Toure, players who can get the job done in Serie A, can’t make the step up into the Champions League.

Even if Milan do make it through to the round of 16, only a kind draw would see them venture even further. Quality signings are needed next summer, otherwise there’s a great chance of Milan stagnating, and then they could lose some of their best players like Leao, Theo Hernandez and Tomori.

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Emmet Gates, Contributor

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October 16, 2022