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So another season of European football’s premier competition kicked off in full last night with the opening games of the group stages.
After last year’s stunning run to the final and having strengthened again in the summer, Bayern Munich start as rightful favourites to retain the title under their new manager Pep Guardiola.
Of course, Bayern are not the only side under new stewardship since last year’s competition, with a large percentage of the clubs reaching this season’s group stages also having changed leadership. As we have seen already in the opening exchanges of the Premier League, a change at the top tends to cause some instability and this in turn could lead to one of the more open competitions for some time.
With this in mind, who looks the most likely to pose a threat to Bayern’s crown?
1. Real Madrid
After finding themselves on the wrong end of a breath-taking Borussia Dortmund performance at the semi-final stage in last season’s competition, serious questions began to be asked about Real’s ‘Galactico’ recruitment policy.
Real Madrid’s Christiano Ronaldo (C) celebrates his goal against Galatasaray with Gareth Bale (L)
Jose Mourinho strolled out the door in the direction of Stamford Bridge and the Madrid club reacted in the only way they really know how – by spending lots and lots (and lots) of money, over €150 million in all and including the world transfer record-setting capture of Gareth Bale from Tottenham.
Madrid may not have learned any lesson whatsoever, but this is Madrid. This is how Real operate and with a squad that boasts the combined talents of Isco, Modric, Di Maria, Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo to name but a few, it would surprise few people to see them still challenging towards the business end of the competition.
2. Borrusia Dortmund
Jurgen Klopp was understandably bitter to lose his best player to his side’s closest rivals.
When the transfer of Mario Goetze to Bayern Munich was announced shortly before the final, much doom was initially predicted for Dortmund and few believed a repeat of their mesmerising displays through to the final would be possible.
Pierre Aubameyang of Dortmund has had a terrific start to this season
However, after fending off much interest in top scorer Robert Lewandowski, manager Jurgen Klopp set about not only finding a replacement for the departed Goetze, but also to add more depth to a squad that had failed to match Bayern on two fronts.
The Goetze money was reinvested in the Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and St. Etienne’s jet-heeled forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The addition of these two players has not only softened the blow of losing their best player, but completely energised Klopp’s forward line. Aubameyang’s pace in particular has added a whole new dimension to Dortmund’s style, creating an absolutely lethal counter-attack which has catapulted them to the top of the Bundesliga with a hundred percent record.
3. Barcelona
Despite reaching the semi-final stages last season, much of Barcelona’s year was disrupted by Tito Vilanova’s battle with cancer.
The heavy defeat at the hands of eventual winners Bayern was typical of their lacklustre performances (by their high standards) throughout the Champions League, which included the defeat to Celtic.
The new season under new coach Gerardo Martino has started well though, with Barcelona top of the Primera and sporting a perfect record after four games. Though there are question marks when it comes to their defence, scoring against them requires the opposition to have the ball - which is no mean task.
The summer addition of the Brazilian, Neymar, means Martino’s side can boast one of the most potent attacks in world football.
4. Juventus
While most of Europe’s premier sides spent their summers securing marquee signings, the Italian champions were busy identifying weaknesses and plugging the gaps in last year’s side – specifically bringing in the forward talent of Carlos Tevez from Manchester City and Fernando Llorente from Athletic Bilbao.
Arturo Vidal (R) of Juventus FC celebrates his goal with team-mate Paul Pogba (L) during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale Milano and Juventus FC at San Siro Stadium
Last season, Antonio Conte’s side struggled to find regular goals in Europe, a problem that looks less of an issue this year. What Juventus definitely do possess is a midfield to rival any other and a defence that conceded only 24 goals in all of Serie A last season.
Aturo Vidal could also be, possibly the best all-round midfielder in the world right now and despite his age, Andrea Pirlo continues to pick apart teams with his vision and passing from deep.
5. Paris St. Germain
PSG have continued to spend big this summer, acquiring the services of the Uruguayan forward, Edinson Cavani, from Napoli.
Last season, PSG were found out by more experienced opponents, falling in the knockout stages to Manchester United.
Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG – A terrifying prospect!
Like Manchester City, the French club have struggled to turn their financial muscle into Champions League performances, but with a forward line boasting the talent of Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lucas Moura, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore, few would write off their chances completely.
6. Arsenal
At first glance, Arsenal may appear the least likely of the Premier League’s sides to have a squad capable of challenging in the latter stages of this year’s competition.
There are, of course, well documented holes in Arsene Wenger’s current squad, but this should not distract from the fact that, when they get it right, the Gunners can beat absolutely anyone.
WIll Mesut Ozil strengthen Arsenal’s chances in the Champions League?
As we said at the start, the changes in management and personnel throughout Europe’s top sides have left this tournament wide open, increasing the possibility that this year’s winners may come from outside the usual suspects
Few would argue that Arsenal seem unlikely to be able to sustain a title challenge for the Premier League. However, if Wenger’s side can find a way out of an admittedly perilous group to the knockout stages, Arsenal have enough players capable of that moment of magic that can turn a knockout tie and, with enough momentum propel the Gunners to the latter stages.
