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The UEFA Champions League is back. The 2021-22 season has started off on an exciting note at the end of an unpredictable and thoroughly entertaining summer transfer window. Europe's top leagues have got the ball rolling and now it's time for the best teams in England to compare their progress with one another.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 will feature quite a few high-profile clashes
The UEFA Champions League is synonymous with the term 'high-profile'. After all, it's the best clubs in Europe squaring off against each other. This season, we have at least three highly competitive groups where predicting the outcome is going to be tough.
Games from Matchday 1 of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League will be played across the 14th and the 15th of September.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best UEFA Champions League matches to watch out for on Matchday 1.
#5 Club Brugge vs Paris Saint-Germain
Belgian side Club Brugge will host Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. While the Belgian outfit are arguably the weakest side in Group A, PSG will be extra wary about the need to get all three points.
More importantly, it will be the first time that Lionel Messi will play in the UEFA Champions League for a team other than Barcelona. Messi has only made one appearance for Paris Saint-Germain so far and he came off the bench in their 2-0 win over Stade de Reims.
Messi was brought on for Neymar. We are yet to see Messi, Neymar and Mbappe share the pitch for PSG. That could very well happen and all three players are tipped to start the game for the Ligue 1 giants on Wednesday.
#4 Manchester City vs RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain have been drawn in the same group for the second successive season. What's even more interesting is that they are joined by a Manchester club once again. Last year, it was Manchester United and this time it is Manchester City.
The Cityzens were runners-up in the Champions League last term. Pep Guardiola's men will be desperate to get their European campaign off to a great start. RB Leipzig have started their post Julian Nagelsmann era rather poorly. They've lost three of their first four Bundesliga matches of the new campaign.
Leipzig will want to get back to winning ways but they'll have their work cut out against a well-drilled Manchester City side. The match is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
#3 Liverpool vs AC Milan
It's a fixture that's soaked in Champions League history. Remember that famous Liverpool comeback after being 3-0 down in the Champions League final in Istanbul in 2005? Or AC Milan getting their revenge two years later and beating the Merseysiders to the title? It's quite simply a battle of epic proportions.
Liverpool have been through a spectrum of emotions in the decade and a half following that. Jurgen Klopp's men are an aggressive, attack-minded unit who will not offer a moment's respite to their opposition.
AC Milan are on an upward curve as well. The Rossoneri finished second in Serie A last term and have started the 2021-22 season on a positive note as well. Both sides have an exciting set of players and this one should be an absolute cracker of a contest.
#2 Inter Milan vs Real Madrid
Three out of four teams in Group D were drawn together last year as well. Inter Milan will want to flip the script this time and do better. They crashed out in the group stages after finishing last.
Inter Milan and Real Madrid have had to deal with the departures of some of their main players. The Nerazzurri parted ways with star striker Romelu Lukaku and the talismanic Achraf Hakimi. Real Madrid have seen off Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
But both teams have recruited well too. The Champions League has been Real Madrid's preferred hunting ground for years now. But Inter Milan will be looking for revenge after their struggles in Europe last season.
#1 Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
One of the darkest days in Barcelona's recent history came courtesy of Bayern Munich. The Bavarians thrashed the Catalans 8-2 in the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-final.
It's a fixture that has featured many high-scoring affairs. Although only a season has passed since their last meeting, the two teams have changed quite a bit. Barcelona have embarked on the post-Lionel Messi era and Bayern Munich are not as dominant as they used to be.
They have been over-reliant on Lewandowski and the team doesn't quite look as cohesive a unit as they did when they won the Champions League in 2019-20. But the game is a meeting between two of the most storied clubs in Europe and it will undoubtedly be a thrilling contest at the Camp Nou.
