With Real Garcia he can count on his best men. Inzaghi pits a top Lautaro against Benfica. Pioli has the game to hurt Dortmund. And Lazio? He must find lightness again
Real Madrid is Real Madrid. Benfica and Borussia Dortmund are firmly among the European elite, they certainly don’t win the cup, but they always get through the group stage. Celtic belong to a lower category but in their fort, Celtic Park, they have collected important scalps including that of Messi. We won’t find the red carpet to welcome us in the Champions League, but the night before the exams couldn’t have been more promising. Napoli regains enthusiasm and (quite a bit of) Spalletti’s play. Inter enjoy a scary Lautaro. Milan have perhaps never been as good a team as they were against Lazio, the only team that ended up being knocked out because they faced a European “colleague” and, above all, they are dangerously prisoners of Sarri’s victimism which has no citizenship in cup competitions. Real Madrid, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund were probably also hoping for more approachable and modest rivals for this second round which can already outline qualifying scenarios.