Bayern Munich and Italy’s Napoli are aiming to get closer to the Champions League final, while Inter and Barcelona are in a semi-decisive summit.
The Bavarian club and the southern Italian team hit hard in the first and second rounds with full scores in the third and first groups respectively.
Bayern will have an easy home match against Czech Viktoria Pilsen, while Napoli will visit Ajax Amsterdam on a tense journey.
Bayern Munich, 6-time champions, most recently in 2020, issued a stern warning to Viktoria Plzen with a big win over their guest Bayer Leverkusen by four points on Friday at the opening of stage eight. The victory over Leverkusen was the first for Bayern Munich after a run of four Bundesliga winless matches (three draws and a defeat), and they will look to confirm it before they next visit their main rival Borussia Dortmund. Saturday in the classic league.
Bayern appear to be a candidate to reserve the first card for their continental group as they will face Viktoria Plzen last on ground in the fourth round on 12 October, in addition to two head-to-head confrontations between their direct rivals Inter and Barcelona. .
Inter, who have won the title three times, most recently in 2010, approach the match against the Catalan club, the holder of five titles, the last of which was in 2015, with a shaken mood after Inter suffered their second defeat in a row and the third in their last four matches in league and fifth in ten matches in various competitions this season when he lost 1-2 against his guest Roma on Saturday at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan.
And his coach Simone Inzaghi, whose layoffs have soared as the administration clings to his services, will be forced to win by three points, especially since he’s playing at home, to restore his chances of missing the first round while waiting for a fourth. Round match in Barcelona on Wednesday.
But the task will not be easy against Barcelona, who are thrilled to snatch first place in the League, with a goal difference from rivals Real Madrid, who are confident to erase their 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the second leg . round.
Barcelona are counting on their new sniper machine, Polish international Robert Lewandowski, who scored the winning goal over Real Mallorca 1-0 on Saturday, the former Bayern Munich striker’s ninth goal in La Liga this season. season. .
Napoli continue strong start
Napoli hope to continue their good performances this season in various competitions when they host Ajax Amsterdam in their first group matches.
Despite the departure of their most prominent stars, led by captain Lorenzo Insigne, Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz, Senegalese defense mogul Kalidou Koulibaly, Belgian striker Dries Mertens and Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Napoli lead the league with six wins and two draws, and his group in a continental competition with two big wins over away Liverpool and last summer 4-1 and hosts Rangers Scotland 3-0.
Napoli, aiming for their first title in the competition, prepared well for Tuesday’s match, beating their guest Torino 3-1 on Saturday, while Ajax, four title winners, most recently in 1995 year, came to him after three matches in which he did not taste the taste of winning in various competitions (two defeats and a draw) and abandoning the top of the league in favor of Alkmaar.
In the same group, Liverpool, crowned six times, most recently in 2019, will have to beat their Scottish guest Rangers to hit two birds with one stone.
Second-placed Liverpool in the loss to Real Madrid seem far from their level in recent years, and after their defensive line became their striking force and contributed to the prestigious continental tournament and English Premier League titles, he became an easy available to adversaries.
The German coach’s men have won only three wins in nine matches in various competitions this season, while conceding 13 times, and his offensive line is suffering in decisive matches due to the departure of his stars from his level, led by the Egyptian international top. scorer Mohamed Salah last season.
Club Brugge Surprise
Like Bayern Munich and Napoli, Belgian Club Brugge, Group B Surprise and Sporting Portugal are aiming for a third win in a row as the former hosts Atlético Madrid in a tough test and the latter hosts Marseille in a tough one. task. On the other hand, Porto, the tournament champions in 1987 and 2004, are looking to get their first win after two straight defeats when they take on Bayer Leverkusen, while 2019 runners-up Tottenham are looking to end the partnership. with a fourth player. runner-up group with German host, Eintracht Frankfurt.