God, it’s good to have you back on our screens, Mr. Champions League.
You may not be as outright ludicrous as the big s***ting Barclays, but you’re pretty damn close. How ’bout them Ukrainians?!
Shakhtar Under-16’s 3-2 victory away at the Real Madrid was nothing short of miraculous and certainly the standout clash of what was an intriguing set of fixtures on matchday one.
The delayed start to the competition means we’ll be doing it all over again next week; picking frantically at the last minute at what game to tune into, possibly bringing another device into play so you can have two games on the go or opting to play it safe with the thoroughly enjoyable Goals Show. It’s a wonderful dilemma to have.
Nevertheless, we were treated to some superb individual displays on the return of Europe’s premier competition just two months following the previous iteration’s enthralling epilogue in Lisbon.
Thus, here’s 90min’s Champions League Team of the Week for matchday one.
1. Goalkeepers & Defenders
David de Gea (GK) – The Spaniard has rightly come under fire for his indifferent form over the past two years but he was at his imperious best in Paris. The save to deny Layvin Kurzawa at 0-0 was majestic but his work to prevent Kylian Mbappe early in the second period was even better. Overall, De Gea pulled off five saves on the night to make sure of United’s deserved victory. Continue reading