This Wednesday in the Champions League is a pretty special one for football fans. No matter which colors you prefer as a football fan, a chance to watch not one but two football classics as European heavyweights go up against each other is something you don’t get to see every day. Of course, we are talking about Ajax vs Liverpool and Barcelona vs Bayern Munich.
These four teams have won the competition 21 times in total during its history, Bayern and Liverpool tied at six times, Barcelona 5 and Ajax in the last spot with “only” 4 titles. A football aristocracy will definitely take the main stage, even though a lot of them are far from serious contenders for competition winners, if not all.
Ajax vs Liverpool
Injury-stricken Liverpool will visit Johan Cruyff Arena after a disappointing defeat against Nottingham Forest, a loss that shows in which state the Reds are. Struggling from the start of the season, even with the big-money summer addition of Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez who is still trying to fit in, they just can’t seem to get in that winning streak can turn the season for them. After the bitter defeat against Arsenal, Klopp’s boys showed character in the 7-1 trashing of Rangers and nail-biting 1-0 against Man City. Salah played the key role in both matches with the fastest hat-trick ever in UCL and a sneaky goal against Citizens after a magnificent assist by the goalie Alisson. And when everyone saw the last year Liverpool emerge, all the weaknesses were displayed against West Ham and NFO.
They seem to miss Sadio Mane, whose absence left Salah overrun by opposition defenders. Nunez is not quite there even though he shows signs of promise; Jota is injured and not so effective when on the pitch since he is yet to score this season in both Premier League and UCL. Alexander-Arnold is having a tough time, his spot in England squad is still possible only due to Reece James and Kyle Walker’s injuries (coach Southgate already left him out of the team due to poor form). One of the few bright spots in a season this bad is Klopp’s trusted soldier Bobby Firmino. A striker whose performance is a definition of the sentence “there is no I in TEAM” has already scored more goals in the PL than last season and looks far sharper on the pitch. He seems to be the only one who is enjoying the “crater” created by Mane’s absence.
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Ajax, on the other hand, seems to be paying the price for making the others pay it during the summer. A magnificent balance created by selling important first-team players is starting to put a dent in their plans for the season. They robbed Man UTD for both Antony (€95 million) and Lisandro Martinez (€57,4 million), allowed Haller to part for Dortmund for €31 million (unfortunately unable to play due to medical condition), and rounding the “big money” transfers with Gravenberch’s Bayern switch for €18,5 million (that one they didn’t want to lose but lost the battle) created an “unexpected” scenario for the board. 2019 semi-finalists are looking at an early competition exit.
And well, to be honest, losing to Liverpool and Napoli is no shame at all, but the manner of it… they couldn’t profit from the Red’s woeful start of the season, but the Napoli matches, they left a scar. Two defeats with a total of 10-3, of which 6 in the net in their home, in front of Amsterdam audience usually so accustomed to performances in which the opponent’s goalkeeper has to be so busy with a red card for the team captain Tadic. This season in UCL showed that you couldn’t compete with Europe’s top teams if you act as their training grounds, pure and simple. But. You can, in fact, make more space for the new wonderkids for your shiny window in which you can display new products. And this year, it is labeled as – Mohammed Kudus. Ghanian has shown that he is ready and eager for the big stage, and as the one who has already made Alisson concede, he will possibly be the main threat on Wednesday night.
Sadly, in that attempt, they will need some Harry Potter level of magic since Liverpool will need a draw to advance to the next round, and with -12 points behind Arsenal, it seems they will focus on the Champions League more. Both teams are very goal-scoring friendly, especially Ajax, as they managed to play the last eight games in which both teams scored. Liverpool’s defense is in shackles, and Ajax has scored 11 goals in the previous two matches with Brobbey and Steven Berghuis, especially in form.
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
The other match is a total epic. Bayern and Barcelona started a grudge match before this season even began, named Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker made a real mess in Munich when he decided to turn back to his teammates after eight years in which he always scored more than 30 goals in a season. But hey, he did the same to Borussia before that, sooooo – karma? (we will come back to the karma part soon)
Bayern peeled the skin of Laporta’s back when they made him spend €45 million for the 34-year-old forward, considering poor finances at Catalunya. For months negotiations were unsuccessful, and the situation was unpleasant. Even Thomas Muller made comments about the situation, hoping for a speedy resolution.
In the end, Barcelona lost a lot of money, Bayern lost a striker for whom he couldn’t find a replacement, and Robert lost the Champions League (enter fore mentioned karma!). Lewandowski got his way, he is in a sunny Barcelona where he will (probably) end his career. He fitted in perfectly, scoring 17 goals in 16 appearances in all competitions, and it’s only October. The Polish international is the first violin in Xavi’s orchestra. And he made Barcelona look great again, a lot better than last year, as they have been more competitive in the part of the season when they lost a lot of points.
But.
Barcelona is eliminated from the UCL for 2nd year in a row at the group stages. Not quite what Los Cules expected during the summer of rebuilding. Ousmane Dembele is finally playing at the level fans expected of him when he came from Borussia Dortmund, Raphinha is dancing on the field, and La Masia is open again with Gavi and Pedri on display. Even with that, “senators” are holding the team back. Busquets aged rapidly, Pique is more invested in preparing for the presidential role than defenders, and Alba is no longer irreplaceable as he was. The main matches so far (Bayern and Real Madrid) showed us that Barcelona is currently carrying a “work in progress” banner.
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Munich is not a happy place these days. Bayern is not bullying other kids on the playground as they would like. The most talented manager in the world is still struggling to replace one of the best strikers in the world. There are rumors that Bayern is waiting on Harry Kane for the next summer, but that is still a long shot. Not bringing a replacement for Lewandowski (but seriously, who is available on the market as a replacement for Lewandowski?) gave people from Bayern a problem but also a possibility. Possibility to bring a very young and very experienced defender like Matthijs de Ligt. To get a proven player like Mane, a promising midfielder like Gravenberch, Mazraoui, or Mathys Tel.
Even with all that, Bayern gained something else – Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old is showing a lot of talent, and that is even more important if you consider his competition in the team.
So this match is not important? Barcelona is out, and they should focus on Primera? Bayern has nothing to prove, they are through, and they’ve got a lot of work in Bundesliga? No. This is a grudge match. It was called Robert Lewandowski, but it will have a new name on Thursday morning.
What to expect of these two matches? Expect a show, a spectacle. Expect fireworks.
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