On Tuesday, the 3rd round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League begins. 16 teams from groups A-D have entered the battle. Tonight we will not witness matches where two top-caliber teams face each other, but intrigues are foreseen in more than one stadium. This season in the UEFA Champions League has already seen surprises, with favorites faltering in the group stage. Some of them are Madrid's "Real" and London's "Tottenham" clubs, who are both in need of victories tonight. Hell awaits. Madrid's "Real" team faces a real challenge - Zinedine Zidane's players, who have been struggling for stability this season, travel to Istanbul to face the passionately supported "Galatasaray" team. The journey of the "White" team in the Champions League began with disastrous results - first a 0:3 defeat to PSG in Paris, then a last-minute draw at home against "Club Brugge." These results have led to the three-time consecutive Champions League winners being at the bottom of the rankings after two rounds. However, the situation for the "White" team is not so bad - "Galatasaray" also has one point, and "Club Brugge" leads them by only a minimal difference. "Real" tonight has a real chance to climb back to the second position, but the heavily supported "Galatasaray" club will strive to become another unpleasant surprise for Zidane's army, which seems capable not only of winning against anyone this season but also of losing to anyone.
????️????️ #Zidane: "We've got a chance tomorrow to prove ourselves and that's what we are going to try and do." #RMUCL | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/MQcKHPTDWg - Real Madrid C.F. ???????????????? (@realmadriden) October 21, 2019
Attempt to wash away shame. A much lighter exam awaits London's "Tottenham" team, which, unlike "Real," has been struggling on all fronts. The "Spurs" players suffered one of the biggest and most painful defeats in the club's history in the last round - they were crushed at their own fortress: visitors from Munich's "Bayern" scored seven goals in North London. Following the tragic Champions League night was another nightmare in the Premier League - the same week, a 0:3 loss against "Brighton," and a 1:1 draw against the league's bottom team "Watford" over the weekend. "Tottenham," who played in the Champions League final just five months ago, has collected only one point after two rounds and is in last place. Mauricio Pochettino's goal is to return to the path of victories as quickly as possible, but there is a significant hurdle ahead - the "Crvena zvezda" club from Belgrade. The Serbian team also did not resist the "Bayern" players, but they managed to beat Piraeus' "Olympiacos" 3:1, a team that "Tottenham" failed to defeat.
Perfect starts. Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Munich's "Bayern" are three clubs that can boast of impressive results at the beginning of the tournament this season. The Bavarian team has already crossed the 10-goal mark in two matches, while both Man City and PSG have a perfect balance of goals scored and goals allowed. Both mentioned clubs belong to the group of teams that have not conceded a goal so far this season. PSG played a "dry" match against Real Madrid (3:0) and Galatasaray (1:0), while Man City scored wins against Shakhtar Donetsk (3:0) and Dinamo Zagreb (2:0).
Goal hunt. In the third group stage of the Champions League, everyone is wondering where Cristiano Ronaldo will end up - the tournament's all-time top scorer has only scored one goal so far, and that was in the last minutes of the match. C. Ronaldo wouldn't be himself if he wasn't concerned about being at the top of the most prolific players. To improve his statistics, the Portuguese has an opportunity - tonight in Turin, he faces a match with Moscow's "Lokomotiv," who conceded two goals against Atletico Madrid in their home. In the Champions League, C. Ronaldo has faced Russian teams twice so far - scoring three goals in 180 minutes.
Unstoppable attacks. Being at the top of the most prolific players can be achieved in just one half - this season, Bayern Munich's representative Serge Gnabry has already proven that. In the second half against Tottenham, the German scored four goals and now shares 1-2 positions with Erling-Braut Haaland. Another Bayern player, Robert Lewandowski, who has three goals to his name, is also among the most prolific players. "Bayern" tonight faces the "Olympiacos" team from Piraeus, who have conceded at least two goals per match this season. Therefore, the leaders of "Bayern" have a great opportunity to secure their positions at the top of the most prolific players.
???? FOUR goals for Serge Gnabry! ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️#UCL | @FCBayern | @SergeGnabry pic.twitter.com/YoxCAXKCc9 - UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 9, 2019
