12/09/2023【Feature】Fernando Hierro – UCL group winner analysis
Fernando Hierro is the best defender in the history of Real Madrid and Spanish football. He played for Real Madrid in 14 years and won 17 titles which included 3 UCL and 5 La Liga. In addition to those club triumphs, he also appeared in 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cup, and 1996 and 2000 Euro Championship for Spain.
Powerhouses to reach knockout rounds
I’ll start with Group F – the ‘Group of Death’ – Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle. It’s going to be very difficult to qualify from this group because Newcastle, the fourth-seeded team, will be a tough opponent for everyone. However, I think Dortmund are significantly weakened after losing Bellingham, while PSG still have one of the world’s best players in Kylian Mbappe. The French side will have the quality and experience to come top, with Milan finishing second – but it should be close!
There are two giants in Group A, with Manchester Utd returning to the Champions League alongside Bayern Munich. Of course, the Red Devils are not as strong as they used to be, but they still have quality, so I see them advancing as runners-up behind Bayern, while Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen will be eliminated, but there will be some tricky away games in Turkey.
Arsenal are my favourites to win Group B and it will be a battle for second place between Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens. But Sevilla have great experience from winning the Europa League so many times and have made a fantastic signing by bringing Sergio Ramos back to the club, so they’ll progress.
Group C should be more straightforward with Real Madrid – powered by Bellingham and Vinicius Junior – coming first and Napoli second. Braga and Union Berlin will not have the strength to compete with these sides.
Last year’s runners-up Inter Milan are clear favourites to win Group D but after that it will be close. I love the way Real Sociedad play football, with so much joy, so I think they can entertain, but ultimately I see Benfica’s experience helping them finish second with Sociedad and RB Salzburg going out.
I see Group E as an interesting one. Antoine Griezmann is still a wonderful player, so he’ll help Atletico Madrid finish top. After that, I think Lazio will be good enough to come second, ahead of Feyenoord and Celtic.
No problem at all for Manchester City in Group G – they will easily finish top! After that, RB Leipzig seem to be stronger than Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys, so the German side will advance to the knockout rounds.
Finally, it’s Barcelona to win Group H and Porto to come second. Normally, Shakhtar Donetsk would provide a very difficult away game but because they will not play in Ukraine, I believe they will find it tough, while Antwerp will also exit.
