Manchester City fell short of their goal to claim their first-ever Champions League title when they lost to Chelsea in last year’s final. But despite selling off one of their top stars, the English champions are looking good to make another deep run in this year’s tournament.
However, the same cannot be said of England’s other contenders, who have shown some considerable flaws in recent weeks that might make many reconsider choosing their Champions League 2021 odds over City’s.
Meanwhile, the world eagerly awaits the dramatic meeting between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, with the fate of one Kylian Mbappe still one of the key storylines in that tie.
Man City lose Ferran Torres for knockout round
At the rate they are going, Manchester City may already have the Premier League title all wrapped up by the time the Champions League knockout round begins. The Citizens have opened up a six-point lead at the top of the table as they’ve continued to rack up wins while top title challengers Liverpool and Chelsea have stumbled.
City appear so confident in the strength of their squad that they completed the sale of Spanish striker Ferran Torres to Barcelona, who will not be playing in the Champions League knockout round for the first time in a decade.
Torres was City’s co-leading scorer in the Champions League last season with four goals, but Guardiola insists the club will not buy a striker in January to replace him.
City are still stacked with attacking options without Torres, though, with Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Gabriel Jesus in attack, while midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne are also more than capable of producing Champions League 2021 highlights.
Man City will take on Portuguese giants Sporting Club in the round of 16.
Other English contenders dealing with issues
Aside from City, there are three other English clubs in the Champions League round of 16 – defending European champions Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – and they are all dealing with some issues at the moment.
Liverpool, who went through the Champions League group stage undefeated, are finally slowing down in the Premier League as a couple of poor results have seen them lose ground in the title race.
Mohamed Salah was subpar in both the draw at Tottenham and the loss to Leicester, where he missed a crucial penalty. He and Sadio Mane will be heading off to the African Cup of Nations in January, which will put even more miles on their bodies.
Chelsea have also had their stumbles recently, with Thomas Tuchel struggling to get the offence up and running consistently. And now, they must deal with the absence of left wing-back Ben Chilwell for the remainder of the campaign due to a torn ACL.
As for Manchester United, the Ralf Rangnick revolution has yet to deliver much change to the Red Devils’ performances on the pitch. They had a disappointing draw against relegation-threatened Newcastle, with Edinson Cavani needing to come up with a late equaliser.
There has been speculation about Cavani’s future at Old Trafford, with Barcelona rumoured to be interested in signing the Uruguayan. Meanwhile, Sevilla are reportedly keen on Anthony Martial, although United have reportedly rejected a loan offer for the Frenchman.
Mbappe won’t sign for Real Madrid before tie
And speaking of French forwards, speculation is rife that Kylian Mbappe will next be playing for PSG’s last-16 opponents, Real Madrid.
Mbappe, who is in the last six months of his deal with PSG, is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club from January 1st onwards. However, he is not expected to do so until after their Champions League round-of-16 clash in order to avoid further controversy.
Mbappe previously admitted he wanted Real Madrid to sign him in the summer, but he has squashed any notion that he will leave in January by pledging his commitment to PSG for the remainder of the season.
“I will give everything I have to win the Champions League, the league and the cup. And to give all the pleasure to the fans, because they deserve it,” Mbappe said.
“I was honest [when I said I wanted to leave]. I gave a feeling, I gave what I have in my heart. I’m happy to stay… It’s my city too. I’m French… I want to win everything this season.
“Paris is my city, it’s where I was born, it’s where I grew up. To play for PSG, it’s an amazing feeling to play with your family and friends alongside of you.”
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