Manchester: Blockbuster clashes will be on the menu for the first matchday of the group stage phase of the UEFA Champions League with top teams like Manchester City, the defending champions, Manchester United, AC Milan, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in action.
Manchester City’s star-studded squad led by last year’s UEFA Champions League golden boot winner Erling Haaland along with Phil Foden and Rodri will kick off their Champions League title defence against Crvena Zvezda.
Last year’s semifinalists, AC Milan will take on English club Newcastle United, who will look to mark their return to European club competitions after a 20-year absence with a win over the Italian giants as they embark on a historical campaign.
The Rossoneri will be hoping their new-look attack consisting of Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Samuel Chukweze and Olivier Giroud will blitz the Magpies’ defence to help them secure their first win in the Champions League this season.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), led by the mercurial Kylian Mbappe, will clash with a Borussia Dortmund squad comprising of the biggest wonderkids of European football in an epic encounter that promises to be a scintillating affair for fans of fluid attacking football.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid will travel to the Estadio Olimpico De Roma in Italy to face Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio in a clash that will see two defensively resolute sides go up against each other in what promises to be an enthralling match.
The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League will also mark the return of Arsenal to the tournament after a six-year absence as the Gunners gear up to take on Dutch giants PSV in an exciting clash.
Real Madrid will be anticipating a comfortable win over Union Berlin as they will be hoping their highly talented squad consisting of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. will secure an emphatic win over Union to announce their intentions to win the trophy for a record fifteenth time.
Lastly, a historical clash between Bayern Munich and Manchester United will be played from Group A on the first matchday. The matches between the two super clubs will be a repeat of the iconic 1998/99 UEFA Champions League final which is etched into the memory of every football fan.
The 2023/24 season of the UEFA Champions League will commence on September 19 with a whole host of enticing games on matchday 1 of the storied tournament. The tournament will culminate on June 1, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London and will be the third time the iconic stadium in England hosts the final of the UEFA Champions League after hosting the 2011 and 2013 finals.
–IANS
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