The UEFA Champions League is back this week. Barcelona have already experienced the result of a superstar performance as Paris Saint-Germain’s Kનાlian Mપ્mppe is the case with being the best player in the world, as his hat-trick helped him to a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou while RB Leipzig conceded twice in the match Migrated. Wednesday’s action should be just as loose. You can follow all this on CBS Sports All Access Access.
On the second day of the Champions League action, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Holland have two exciting matchups of choice against Borussia Dortmund at Juventus and Sevilla at Porto.
Wednesday’s relationship is likely to be entertaining with the first and second legs which will lead to a gripping conclusion next month from a close first leg, although it was also expected on Tuesday, before both sides stepped away from their hosts.
Here’s a closer look at the second day of Round 16 action.
Gladbach plans Dortmund’s planned coaching transformation
It’s never ideal when the story before a big match is about a coaching change, but the situation is that Dustmond Estadio Ramon Sanchez finds himself in Pizjuan before his clash with Sevilla. After firing manager Lucian Favre, Dortmund had a difficult start to life under interim boss Edin Terzic, who won three of all competitions in 2021 and drew two.
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It is not surprising that Dortmund are planning a life after Terzic, however, as the BVB made preparations for Bundesliga rivals Borussia Monchengladbach to announce that their head coach Marco Rose has agreed to join Dortmund this summer. But that’s what they did on Tuesday.
It has been a radio silence from Dortmund since the announcement of fellow Champions League representatives Gladbuck and is a barely ideal preparation for a game that will be already quite tough with the prospect of unsetting players and Terzik.
Sevilla are one side of Europe with seven clean sheets with nine consecutive wins in all current competitions, scoring 18 goals for just one goal while Dortmund are struggling for form with the last seven to two wins and one of the extra time needed. And they have added some attacking punches since the last few times they also appeared in the Champions League. During the January transfer window they acquired Papu Gomez from fellow Champions League rivals Atlanta, a kind of constructive attack spark that could be missing for the disciplined Sevilla side.
The Dutch attack, led by Hollande in March against the Spanish defense by Jules Cond કnde in demand, will be one of the many interesting battles to keep an eye on this one while USMNT’s talented Geo Rena could play a small part for visitors. Despite being a regular for Dortmund, the teenager now has two more months left from his last goal on 12 December and so much more from his last assist on 28 November.
-F-color former winners
Porto’s meeting with Juventus at the Estadio Drago Dragoo is a pair of two-time Champions League winners facing each other with the most recent title with the Portuguese in 2004.
However, currently both teams are not the best in form and Porto have a Sporting C.P. And Juventus are in the familiar position of not being top in the domestic league with a poster with 10 points from the pace set in fourth by eight adrift. New leaders hand in hand to close the gap on Inter Milan.
This stability sees Cristiano Ronaldo return to his native Portugal, which is always an occasion, but neither side has won their last two matches in all competitions with the hosts at the rate of four draws in a row.
This edition will have plenty of star power in performance with Alvaro Morata, one of four players on six goals so far, as is Dortmund’s Holland, and Ronaldo is no more than four behind.
Both sides feel they can be assigned a tough draw and the Italians will earn the advantage of being at home on the other foot.
It will also be interesting for USMNT fans that Weston McKennie will play a key role for Juventus, as they continue to grow after winning their first silverware with Supercoppa Italia earlier this year. McKenzie has now reaped huge benefits for the elite team-mates in Turin by trading Schalke’s chaotic environment in Germany last season. He has been scoring at a double rate, averaging 0.18, with an average of 90, going from 0.13 goals per minute to 0.27, after not hitting a single log last season. With attackers like Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata in front of him and defenders like Leonardo Bonucci and Mth Thijas de Ligat behind him, the young American has really nailed an action-packed midfielder at the top of the European game.
