The Champions League is the most prestigious club football tournament in Europe, with the top teams fighting out each year to be declared the “Champions of Europe.” Of the hundreds of clubs that are eligible to play in the competition, just 22 have ever won it since the first contest in 1955, with just six teams winning more than three titles.
With current champions, Liverpool, looking to win the domestic Premier League title, and the Champions League’s most successful team, Real Madrid, not looking as sharp as usual, the race for the title has been thrown wide open. Here are some of the contenders.
Manchester City
Manchester City have been a dominant force in English football in the last few years. It has won the Premier League title for the last two seasons and remains near the top of the table in 2019/20. However, unlike their domestic rivals, Liverpool, they have never won the Champions League and manager, Pep Guardiola, is hungry for a European win. Sitting at the top of Group C, City have won all but one of their four games so far, with the only other being a draw against the Italian side, Atlanta.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid has won the Champions League more times than any other team, with 13 victories to their name. Despite this, they are currently ranked by several bookmakers as the 7th favourite to win in 2019/20. This is a reflection of their recent performances. They have been evenly matched with local rivals, Atletico Madrid recently, and now they both sit second in the Champions League groups, with two wins, a loss, and a draw each.
Bayern Munich
German side Bayern Munich were knocked out in the last-16 stage of last year’s Champions League but have seen a lot of changes over the summer, with both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery leaving. They have retained Robert Lewandowski, though, who was the second-highest goalscorer in the Champions League last year. They haven’t won the tournament since 2013 but have been dominant in their domestic league for much of the previous decade.
Liverpool
As the last year’s winners, Liverpool remain a strong contender for the Champions League title in 2020. However, their focus is firmly on winning the Premier League to end their 30-year league drought. This doesn’t mean they have given up, though, with a strong performance so far in the group stages.
Barcelona
Barcelona are another dominant team at the European club level, but they haven’t won the Champions League since 2015. They made it as far as the semi-finals last year, mostly thanks to Lionel Messi scoring the most goals in the tournament. They have strengthened their line up over the summer, so they shouldn’t be ruled out in 2019/20.
Success in the group stages does not guarantee success later in the competition, as poor performance in a single match can be enough to decide your fate. It will likely be a close race this season, with many teams in contention.
