Champions League Group State Most Impressive Teams
Real Madrid
Real Madrid ended their group stage campaign in style. The Spanish giants defeated Malmo 8 – 0 and finished as Group A leaders with 16 points. The 2014 Champions League winners won all their matches in the group stage except a 0 – 0 draw against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. Los Blancos scored a total of 19 goals and conceded only three in six group fixtures. Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in the European competition with a whopping 11 goals, an average of almost 2 goals per game. Despite a few disastrous losses in La Liga this season, they are among the favourites to feature in this season’s final in Milan.
Bayern Munich
Pep Guardiola’s team looks ready to win all the major trophies this season. The Bavarian giants are firing on all cylinders this season and some of their performances so far have been simply outstanding. The German champions lost 2 – 0 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. But they came back stronger in the return fixture and battered the north London side 5 – 1 at the Allianz Arena. With five wins and a loss, Bayern earned 15 points and topped Group F.
Barcelona
According to the betting website William Hill, the treble winners are 9/4 to retain the Champions League at the end of this campaign. Luis Enrique’s men topped Group F without much difficulties. The Catalan giants netted 15 goals in six games and attained 14 points. They suffered two draws, but they were still eight points ahead of Group F runners-up AS Roma. All the teams in the competition would want to avoid Lionel Messi and co. before the final on May 28, 2016. The attacking partnership of Messi, Suarez and Neymar is continuing their form of last season, and they certainly can give nightmares to the best defenders in the world.
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg topped Group B ahead of Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and 20-time English champions Manchester United. Dieter Hecking’s men had a brilliant run in the Bundesliga last season, and they are still going strong despite losing their best player – Kevin de Bruyne – to Manchester City in the summer. Wolfsburg finished the group stage with 12 points after winning four and losing two of all their fixtures. The team’s fighting spirit was in display in their last group game against Van Gaal’s Manchester United. Three points for United would have resulted in Wolfsburg’s elimination, but the German side proved their mettle and defeated the three-time European champions.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid clinched the top spot in Group C with 13 points. The La Liga outfit will be hard to beat, and they can make it to the later stages of the tournament. Diego Simeone’s men trumped the likes of Benfica and Galatasaray, and they are 16/1 to win the Champions League, according to William Hill. The 2014 Champions League runners-up are certainly capable of causing upsets, and it will be interesting to see how they’ll fare against the likes of PSG, Manchester City and Juventus if they meet any of them in the later stages.