Once the Champions League starts, it’s the sign that European football lives again, and for every football enthusiast, it is the ideal time to start predicting the CL winner. Understandably, when we take a look at what happened before, it can be pretty ungrateful to guess the team that will go all the way. Real Madrid, PSG, Man City, Liverpool, and Bayern are the teams that many think of as favorites, but the beauty of the CL lies precisely in the fact that surprises happen more often than not. So, for those who think that Man City can win the trophy, let’s focus just on facts.
Problems with playing under pressure
There is no doubt that playing under pressure is something that any player like, and it is everything but easy to get back into the game after a few goals are conceded, but some teams can handle it and end up as winners in the end. Unfortunately, City is not among them, and they seem to hand over the match after conceding a goal and play it until the end without the passion and idea of how to make a big comeback. Of course, even the players have learned a lot during previous seasons, and the loss in the final game of the CL has surely been a good lesson, which might be precisely what this team needed.
On the other hand, all the players lose their concentration instead of handling the pressure and trying to get the best out of the situation, which affects their results, and it can be seen not only in games where they conceded goals but also in ones where they did not score early. It can be easily fixed with timely substitutions and introducing fresh players into the game who can improve the dynamics of the match and team atmosphere, but it is up to the coach, and we can only wait to see what will happen in the next matches.
The stars are not in their favor in European competitions
There is no doubt Man Blue was one of the dominating teams in the Premier League for a long time, but when it comes to European competition, they have never had enough luck. Yes, Liverpool has been a title contender and has won a title in the PL, but if this season has taught us anything, it’s that only Man City have a good enough squad and long enough roster to cross every challenge that might come their way. On the other hand, they have only one European title, and since they won it in the season 1969/70, it is barely worth mentioning today, as much has changed since then.
The fact they are a part in elite competitions every season for more than ten years gives hope to their fans but losing in the final match in the previous Champions League still hurts. However, this season is a new chance to win a long-desired trophy, and bookmakers give huge chances to Citizens. Their performance during the group stage ’till now has been promising, but it’s just the beginning, and things are yet to become interesting and a bit more complicated. Of course, with Pep on the bench for quite some time now, the odds look good that City can go all the way, but lack of experience performing in the big games might be a burden that they would not know how to get rid of.
The format of the competition
There are many things that make the Champions League stand out and one of a kind in the world, and the format of the competition is one of those main things. Namely, as much as the group stage is interesting because there are many teams and games, these games are in the first part of the season, and big teams like Man City usually have no trouble ending up in first or second place. Now, everyone who follows football knows that the second part of the season is the most important as this is when the league winner is decided and whether winning a double or a triple is possible.
That makes the second part of the season much more challenging for clubs, as they need to perform at a high level every three days (sometimes even less), which is something that is extremely hard to do. Of course, this is where mental preparation is of vast importance, along with the form of the players, but all of this is even more difficult for clubs who are in the Premier league. Namely, unlike other European leagues, there is no winter break in the PL, making it a one-of-a-kind league in the world.
We all know how great it is to watch football and some derby game during winter holidays when the Premier League is one of the very few that’s still active. On the other hand, this is a big burden for England clubs, as they need to maintain good form, get good results and still be ready for the end of February to be on an even higher level once the CL starts. Yes, England clubs have won many European titles before, but this system is one of the main reasons why Man City cannot win the European title this year.
To summarize
There is still a lot of time left until the end of the prestigious Europe competition Champions League, which means that we will still watch some interesting games. Regarding that, many surprises can happen, and we can witness one of the most interesting finales. That’s yet another thing that makes this competition one of a kind in the world, as when the second stage of the competition starts, surprises happen much more often, and just remember that unforgettable season when Monaco and Porto were the finalists.
Until now, Man City has a great score in the group stage, but they are not the only one, and we cannot forget Napoli, Bayern, and Real, but also PSG, Chelsea, and many others, such as Milan, still hopes for a miracle. There is no doubt it will be interesting until the very end, and difficult to predict the winner, but if you have an idea of who it can be, try your luck and place a bet on kumpulan situs judi bola terpercaya.
