The second round of the Champions League football competition takes place on Tuesday, which heralds difficult matches outside the rules for four strong teams, including the defending champion Manchester City, which travels to Germany to meet RB Leipzig in the seventh group competitions, and Barcelona, which faces FC Porto in Portugal in the eighth group. Meanwhile, Saint-Germain crosses the Channel to face its English host, Newcastle, in Group Six. While the Italian club Milan faces Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Published on: 03/10/2023 – 14:16
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He wades Manchester City Defending champion andSpanish Barcelona French Paris Saint-Germain and Italian Milan will face difficult tests on Wednesday outside their rules, in the second round of the group stage of the competition Champions League in soccer.
City will be a guest of German Leipzig in Group G, and Barcelona will be a guest of… Portuguese Porto At eight o’clock, while Paris Saint-Germain will visit St. James’ Park to face its English host, Newcastle, in Group F, while Milan will travel to Signal Sedona Park in Dortmund to meet Germany’s Borussia.
Manchester City to avoid a third loss in a row
Manchester City returns to the competition in which it won the title for the first time in its history last season after two consecutive losses to Newcastle 0-1 in the League Cup last Wednesday when it left empty-handed, then against Wolverhampton 1-2 in the league when its perfect start stopped at 6 consecutive victories. This is the first time that City has lost twice in a row since last January.
This is the third time in a row that the two teams have met in the prestigious continental competition, as they exchanged wins in 2021 (6-3 for City and 2-1 for RB Leipzig). The two teams share the top spot in the group with three points each.
But City’s task will not be easy for the German team this season, as the latter has rebuilt its team and put it on the right track with remarkable results after losing one of the four most prominent players in its ranks this summer.
Leipzig has achieved seven victories in nine matches so far this season, suffering only one loss in all competitions. Within the framework of the same group, the wounded Red Star Belgrade of Serbia will meet with Young Boys of Switzerland.
A real test for Barcelona in Porto
As for FC Barcelona, it will undergo a real test when it visits Porto in a heated summit at the top of the group.
Both teams are seeking their second victory in a row, but they enter the confrontation with mixed morale. The Catalan club regained its winning tone with a difficult victory over Sevilla 1-0 in La Liga, while Porto lost to its traditional rival Benfica with the same result.
Barcelona is suffering from the absence of its Dutch international midfield star, Frankie de Jong, who is injured, and the Brazilian winger Rafinha has joined him, but it has an important arsenal of players capable of making a difference, led by its promising stars Gavi and Lamine Jamal, and the Portuguese arrivals on loan, Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, along with Polish top scorer Robert. Lewandowski.
A dangerous mission outside the rules for Paris Saint-Germain to Newcastle
Paris Saint-Germain awaits a risky trip to Newcastle, which has been shining recently with four victories in five matches in various competitions without losing.
The Parisian club, which dreams of winning the competition title for the first time in its history, enters the match with a disappointing goalless draw against its host, Clermont-Ferrand, and therefore tomorrow’s match will be an opportunity to reconcile its fans after its wonderful display last week against its traditional rival, Marseille, when it honored its team with a clean 4-0 win.
In Group Six, Borussia Dortmund seeks to exploit the ground staff and the audience to compensate for its loss to Paris Saint-Germain 0-2 in the first round, when hosting the ancient Milan.
At five, the Spanish Atletico Madrid will meet the Dutch Feyenoord, and the Scottish Celtic will meet the Italian Lazio.
France 24 / AFP
2023-10-03 12:16:35
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