Santiago Aparicio
Madrid, Dec 6 (EFE) .- The respective finals faced by thirteen teams on Tuesday and next Wednesday in the last day of the group stage do not have a crown as their objective, but rather survival in the Champions League and all that it entails. .
Seven places remain vacant for the configuration of the round of 16 poster. The other nine are already occupied by Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea as first in the group, together with Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Barcelona and Juventus, who still have the position to be defined.
Inter, Lazio and Atalanta from Italy, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid from Spain, Borussia Monchengladbach and Leipzig from Germany, Manchester United from England, Salzburg from Austria, Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine, Ajax from the Netherlands, Paris Saint Germain France and Bruges in Belgium are the ones who play the continental future. Survival. The success for some, the procedure or the failure for others.
The relevance of many of the meetings of the last date appeases the expectation for the reunion between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo that have not coincided since the Portuguese left Real Madrid. It will be a face-to-face at the Camp Nou. The contagion of the Portuguese coronavirus prevented the duel between the two stars in the first leg.
Anything can happen in Group B, with the four members with options. Three of them depend on itself. Borussia Monchengladbach, Shakhtar and Real Madrid, the most played by reputation and history. The Inter pass, which also accounts for, is not in his hand directly. It depends on the others. The situation is extreme for Real Madrid, who had their trajectory amended with the two victories against Inter and who came out blushing from Kiev after losing against Shakhtar. The team of Zinedine Zidane still has it in hand, plagued with doubts, unstable throughout the course, who must win in Valdebebas against Borussia Monchengladbach, who also plays the classification.
They can both have enough of a draw if Inter beat Shakhtar in Milan. The Italian team only advances if they add the three points and the Madrid match does not end level. The Italian representative will be in the round of 16 if he wins or draws and Real Madrid does not win. Everything can happen in this Group B. With the possibilities distributed.
Atlético de Madrid also plays it. The setbacks against Lokomotiv have led him to the last day with homework to do. It serves a point to Diego Pablo Simeone’s side in the final in Salzburg, which will continue in the competition if it achieves victory in a quartet where Bayern Munich has already secured first place and that will conclude the phase against the Moscow team, which dreams of being third.
The triumph at Old Trafford against Manchester United cleared the outlook for Paris Saint Germain, who will be qualified if they beat Istanbul Basaksehir, fourth no matter what. The other place at stake is between Leipzig and the English team, who meet at the Red Bull Arena in Germany. He serves United with one point. Julian Nagelsmann’s painting probably needs all three.
Group D also has a vacancy. Liverpool will be first at the end of the phase while Atalanta, with eight points, and Ajax, with seven, bid for second place. Both are measured in Amsterdam.
With Borussia Dortmund already classified and pending just to be first, Group F sees another key match between Lazio and Club Brugge. The Roman box, two points above, serves an equal to be in the eighth. The Belgian champion has to win.
The reunion between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, frustrated on the first date by the coronavirus that affected the Portuguese, encourages the duel at the Camp Nou between Barcelona and Juventus, who also bid for the leadership of Group G. The two they will be in eighths. For Ronald Koeman’s team, the only one of all with full triumphs, a draw is enough to finish first. Juventus have to win by more than two goals.
Sevilla will close the Group stage in Rennes in a group where everything is resolved. The Andalusian team will be second and Chelsea, who host Russian Krasnodar, first. The same as Group C, with the Manchester City of the Spanish Pep Guardiola with the first place secured and Porto next, both classified. The Portuguese team travels to Greece to face Olympiacos. City receives Marseille who bid with the Hellenic representative for third place and play the Europa League. EFE.
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