The second day of the fourth round of the Champions League could bring some spectacular matches.
In Group D, Juventus in Moscow has a clear record - the victory brings them a place among the 16 best teams of the Old Continent, and that they are capable of doing so, they showed in all three previous duels with Lokomotiv. In the last of the three "black and white" triumphs, it was 2:1 for Juventus. Admittedly, at that time there was a sensation on the horizon, because Lokomotiv was leading until the 77th minute, but in just two minutes, Dybala sent the guests away empty-handed with two spells.
- Every point is very important, because it brings us closer to the goal, which is to welcome spring on the European stage. That's why we will fight for every ball - says coach of Lokomotive Juri Sjomin.
Juve knows how much trouble the Russian representative gave him in Turin.
Cristiano Ronaldo played 165 games in the Champions League - the most of the active footballers playing in the elite European competition this season. Followed by Leo Messi with 140, Gianluigi Buffon with 122, Sergio Ramos with 121, Gerard Pique with 114... Including footballers who have retired or are not playing in the Champions League this season, the absolute record holder is Iker Casillas, with 177 appearances
- It will be difficult, because it is always like that in the Champions League and because Lokomotiva has already given us problems. But the goal is to solve everything about passing - Juve coach Mauricio Sari said.
Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético are teams that know each other very well, and after their matches, as a rule, the fans of the Madrid club rejoiced. That was also the case in the last match, when Alvaro Morata scored for the guests at the "Wanda Metropolitano", 12 minutes before the end. With that victory, Atlético joined Juventus at the top of Group D with seven points, and considering that before tonight's clash in Leverkusen, they will finish the duel in Moscow, Diego Simeone and his men will know if the victory secures their passage to the knockout phase even two rounds before the end of the competition in the group.
- I have already said that we are playing against an extremely high-quality team, which has the most ball possession in the Bundesliga. I expect to see the best from Bayer, and we will try to get the match into a rhythm that suits us - says Atlético's strategist Diego Simeone. On the other hand, Bayer does not have a single point in three games, scoring only one goal, so a passage to the Europa League would be a great success for the German team. In any case, only a victory leaves any hopes for the team from Leverkusen that they can perform an even bigger miracle and go to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
- We are playing at home and we will have great support from our fans. We played well in Madrid, now we know how Atlético plays and I think this is a real opportunity to move from zero - said Bayer's twenty-year-old midfielder Kai Havertz, the great hope of German football.
Crvena zvezda shows two completely different faces in the group stage - away from home, it serves to improve the home team's goal difference, but in the roof of the "Rajko Mitić" stadium, no one can count on points with certainty. Tottenham's five goals in London showed the difference in the quality of the two teams, but Zvezda's fans rely on the support from the stands and the poor form of Mauricio Pochettino's team.
- We know that the public has high expectations, they say that if we beat Liverpool last year, we can beat Tottenham now, but I am a realistic person. What happened is part of history, we prepare for each match separately and we are familiar with Tottenham's quality. Of course, we always believe in ourselves, we do our best, we want the best, and fans, out of love for Zvezda, often know how to be unrealistic - said Red Star coach Vladan Milojević. Visiting Zvezda comes at the most inconvenient possible time for Tottenham. The team is not shining, Harry Kane did not play against Everton due to the virus (he traveled to Belgrade), and Son is probably still in shock after that match and his start that led to Andre Gomes breaking his leg.
- We have to overcome difficulties and stick together. We go into every game with the desire to win, so it will be the same against Red Star - said Kane, who is the captain of the team in the absence of the injured Ugo Lloris.
The triumph of Zvezda would complicate the situation in group B as much as possible, in which Bayern welcomes Olympiakos after the "firecracker" in Frankfurt and the "earthquake" on the bench, the epilogue of which is the departure of Niko Kovac. Bayern will be led by Hansi Flick from the bench against the Greek team.
The duel at "Maksimir", where Dinamo welcomes Shakhtar, could ultimately decide the journey to the knockout stage, given that the two teams are tied for second place in Group C with four points each, five less than the leading Manchester City, who visiting last-placed Atalanta (no points).
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