5 intriguing fixtures from the first week of the 2018/19 Champions League
The 2018/19 Champions League is almost upon us, with the first set of group games beginning this Tuesday evening across Europe. It’s a loaded competition with a myriad of potential winners, but obviously the usual big guns are the teams that all the fans are looking forward to seeing in action.
UEFA’s group stage draw has been kind to the neutral fans this year and thrown up some massive pairings between Europe’s giants at the first possible moment, and so here are the five most intriguing fixtures from the first week of the competition.
#1 Inter Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs and Inter have history in the Champions League, dating back to the 2010/11 edition of the competition, where the sides clashed in the group stage. The first match between the two at the San Siro saw Inter fly into a 4-goal lead inside 35 minutes, apparently proving that the Champions League was a step too far for Spurs, only to see a stunning hat-trick from Gareth Bale in the second half peg them back to 4-3.
That game has since gone into folklore due to Bale’s performance essentially ending Maicon’s career as a top-level right-back, and in the return fixture at White Hart Lane, the Brazilian was once again tormented by the Welshman as Spurs won out 3-1 winners.
Of course, plenty of things have changed for both sides since. Thanks to manager Mauricio Pochettino and the emergence of players like Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, Tottenham are now Champions League mainstays. Inter meanwhile haven’t made much of a dent in Europe recently and haven’t appeared in the Champions League since 2011/12.
With players like Ivan Perisic, Radja Nainggolan and Mauro Icardi at their disposal though, the Italians will be no pushovers for the Londoners. And with Spanish giants Barcelona in the same group as these two, it’s imperative for both teams to start off strongly. This could be an interesting one indeed.