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The Champions League is Europe's premier competition. Only the best teams in Europe get to play in the tournament and the standards are always high. As a result, there is not much room for error.
Teams can find themselves under immense pressure from the outset if they don't start on a positive note. With each match being crucial, a single loss or even a draw can significantly affect a team's chances of progressing to the later stages.
The competitive nature of the tournament means that even the group-stage matches are of paramount importance, and any slip-up can be costly. As a result, teams are compelled to perform at their best right from the beginning.
Without further ado, let's look at five big teams already under pressure in the UEFA Champions League this season.
#5 Sevilla
Sevilla qualified for this season's Champions League in rather incredible fashion. They finished at a lowly 12th in La Liga last term but won the Europa League for a record-extending seventh time to book their berth in the Champions League.
However, Sevilla's wins have dried up drastically across all competitions of late and this has affected their form in the opening weeks of the Champions League as well. The Andalusians settled for successive draws against Lens and PSV in their first two group-stage games.
Lens and Arsenal have won a game each and Sevilla find themselves under great pressure to pick up a win. If they cannot turn things around, they could soon find themselves in familiar territory in the Europa League.
#4 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund were pipped to the Bundesliga title on the last day of the 2022-23 season by Bayern Munich in heartbreaking fashion. Dortmund have since lost their best player Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid but have managed to get off to a good start to their 2023-24 Bundesliga campaign.
They have won six out of eight games and are just two points off the top of the table. However, the same cannot be said of their Champions League campaign thus far. Drawn alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United and AC Milan in what is essentially the 'group of death', Dortmund are yet to get their first win.
They fell to a 2-0 loss to PSG in their group-stage opener and were subsequently held to a goalless stalemate on home soil by AC Milan. Dortmund are currently fourth in Group F and are under massive pressure already.
#3 Arsenal
Arsenal weren't expected to encounter too much trouble in Group B of the Champions League. Given their quality, the Gunners were widely tipped to top their group which also includes Lens, Sevilla and PSV.
However, after picking up an impressive 4-0 win over PSV in their group-stage opener, Mikel Arteta's men fell to a 2-1 loss to Lens away from home. That loss has put Arsenal under pressure as more defeats in the group stage could spell danger for them.
#2 AC Milan
Yet another member of the 'group of death', AC Milan will have been hoping for a much better start to their UEFA Champions League campaign than the one they've had. The Rossoneri have only managed to settle for successive draws in their first two matches of the group stage.
The draws came against Newcastle United at home and Borussia Dortmund away. Unfortunately for Milan, they will take on Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes this Wednesday.
They are already under pressure and if they concede a loss against PSG, their chances of progressing into the Champions League knockout stages will reduce drastically.
#1 Manchester United
Manchester United's awful start to the season has already put their Champions League campaign in jeopardy. A 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena came as no shock but they followed it up with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Galatasaray at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils' injury problems have aggravated their problems on the pitch. Whatever the case may be, with two losses in two games, United simply cannot afford to slip up anymore. Erik ten Hag will need to get his men on the same page soon or everything they worked for last season could go up in smoke pretty soon.
