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This season of the Champions League has got off to a blistering start and there are already many favourites for lifting the trophy this time around. Juventus, Barcelona, and Man City are front-runners, with teams like Real Madrid, despite the loss of their Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, are not to be written out either.
But some teams, namely Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are proving to be giving a run in Europe's most elite competition. With the rise of Inter Milan to the competition after a while and their newfound dominance in the Serie A makes them the underdogs for this year as well.
Let's take a look at the teams which are capable of being UEFA Champions League contenders in the coming years.
3. Borussia Dortmund
When Lucien Favre signed up with Borussia Dortmund in the summer, much wasn't expected from the Die Schwarzgelben and many people expected Bayern Munich to easily brush past their opponents and win the league yet again with ease.
But that hasn't been the case so far this season, with Dortmund still unbeaten in the league with 7 wins and 3 draws in 10 games, scoring 30 goals and conceding 10 in the process, with young talents Jadon Sancho, Paco Alcacer, Christian Pulisic and Bruun Larsen putting in impressive performances along with Marco Reus who seems to be back to his best in what has been an injury-ravaged career.
Much of this success has to be the form of Marco Reus and Favre's use of talented youngsters who have certainly repaid the managers trust. With the average age of the squad at just 24, they surely have a future to behold if they can keep their youngsters without losing them to bigger clubs.
If this is achieved, they surely will be a team which can attract big names and also be a major contender in Europe for an extended period.
2. Inter Milan
After a six-season absence in the Champions League, Inter Milan have finally made it to the competition and are here to prove a point to the world. Internazionale finished 4th in the league last season after a dramatic game against Lazio in the final Gameweek of the season to secure their qualification.
This season, Inter have made very impressive signings in the form of Radja Nainggolan, Stefan de Vrij, and Keita Balde to improve their squad and that is what they have done so far. They currently sit 2nd in the league behind Juventus by 6 points and although it could be argued they are not title contenders, their performances have surely improved.
With the likes of Mauro Icardi, Milan Skriniar, Ivan Perisic and along with the new signings surely make Inter Milan a formidable side which is capable of becoming Europe's best team yet again with the presence of Luciano Spalletti at the helm as their manager.
1. Atletico Madrid
One could argue Atletico Madrid are already a European Superpower, but that is not the case when you crash out of the Champions League in the group stage, finishing third behind Chelsea and Roma.
To improve on last season's disappointment, Atletico invested heavily in their squad this summer and made some impressive signings in the form of Gelson Martins, Thomas Lemar and Rodri to put up a title challenge and also to go further in the Champions League, especially with the final set to be played at their stadium. Although they may have been thrashed 4-0 by Dortmund, all is not lost as they are just 4 points behind Barcelona in the league.
With Atletico tying down Griezmann to a new contract and being able to ward off interest from Barcelona, Atletico are slowly proving the act they are able to attract big-name players, which is the first step towards becoming an elite club and it is only time before they win their first UCL.
