Champions League Opening Round: Fierce Battle, The Strong Show Their Power

(Dan Tri) - Right in the opening round of the Champions League group stage this season, fans witnessed fierce battles between the two football powers of England and Spain.

The new format of the Champions League brings many interesting features when big battles can appear in each round of the group stage. Right in the opening match, fans witnessed 4 fierce battles between the two football countries of England and Spain.

These are the leagues with the most representatives participating in the Champions League group stage with 6 and 5 slots respectively. The fact that most of the clubs from the two strongest footballing countries in Europe will meet in the first round creates an interesting "greeting" in this season's Champions League. Among them, the championship candidates can be revealed.

Liverpool face Atletico Madrid in the opening round of the Champions League (Photo: Getty).

The match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid is the most anticipated in the series of England and Spain battles. Last season, Liverpool convincingly won the Premier League title under coach Arne Slot. To upgrade their strength, The Kop spent up to 484 million euros (according to Transfermarkt) to recruit a series of players such as Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong...

Although most of the new players have not made an impression (except Ekitike), Liverpool have still won all four matches in the Premier League this season. However, Atletico Madrid, with their strong and solid playing style under coach Simeone, are expected to stop the English "big guy".

Liverpool have won all three of their matches against Atletico Madrid in recent years. Although this statistic gives Slot and his team optimism, they cannot underestimate the Spanish representatives. Los Rojiblancos are still an experienced team and are ready to cause Liverpool trouble with their solid defensive play.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will travel to Bilbao. In many aspects, the Gunners are considered to be better than the Basque team. In particular, last season, Arsenal proved their strength when reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.

However, it should be noted that Bilbao is always scary at home at San Mames. If they do not foresee the pitfalls on their trip to the Basque Country, the London team could completely fall.

Arsenal face a tough away trip to Bilbao's San Mames (Photo: Getty).

Another match worth watching is Tottenham hosting Villarreal at home. Spurs are on a roll under Thomas Frank, winning three of their four Premier League games. They have improved their defence significantly compared to Postecoglou, keeping a clean sheet in all three of those games.

However, Villarreal are always formidable in European Cup thanks to their annoying playing style. In their last participation in the Champions League (2021/22 season), the "Yellow Submarine" reached the semi-finals. That is the reason why Tottenham must be really careful.

English and Spanish football have another interesting battle when Newcastle clash with Barcelona. The Magpies have just been forced to sell their number 1 striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool but they have brought in a series of new players such as Elanga, Thiaw, Ramsey, Woltemade and Wissa.

Newcastle's style of play is strong and agile. They have to face the "softness" of Barcelona. The Catalan team has risen strongly since last season, winning La Liga and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. In this match, Lamine Yamal will not play due to injury, but Barcelona are still very dangerous. Last weekend, despite the service of Yamal, Los Blaugrana still destroyed Valencia with a score of 6-0.

The other two English representatives, Man City and Chelsea, also face a tough challenge. Man City will host Serie A champions Napoli at the Etihad Stadium. In this match, De Bruyne will have an emotional reunion with his old club. Meanwhile, Chelsea will have to play away at Bayern Munich. This is a big challenge for the FIFA Club World Cup champions, but in any case, they are gradually stabilizing under coach Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea represent Bayern Munich in the opening round of the Champions League (Photo: Getty).

Also in the opening match, Real Madrid will welcome French representative Marseille at home Bernabeu. Although not really stable under coach Xabi Alonso, Los Blancos still have a high chance of winning 3 points in this match.

Meanwhile, champions PSG will face Atalanta at home at the Parc des Princes. PSG are without their entire attack ahead of the game, with Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue all injured. That could make it difficult for them to face the Italians.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/vong-mo-man-champions-league-dai-chien-nay-lua-ke-manh-ra-oai-20250916093908110.htm