Champions League title contenders 2021/22

The UEFA Campions League (formerly known as the European Cup) was introduced in 1955 and every year the best of the best clubs in Europe participates in it. In 1992 the competition got rebranded and now it is considered as the most prestigious football club tournament in the world. Every season 32 teams reach to the final stage of the competition and have the chance to win the famous big ear trophy and be crowned as the champions of the Europe. Up to this day, 22 clubs from 10 different countries managed to win the competition and write their names in history.

So now that we are just a few weeks away from the kick-off of the first fixture of

UEFA Champions League 2020/21

, it is a good time to have a look at the top 5 contenders UEFA Champions League 2020/21. Obviously creating a list of Champions League title contenders 2021/22 with only five clubs out of so many elite clubs that participate in the competition is not an easy task; in order to do that we have taken into account the clubs summer transfer window, the recent form from last season especially in European games, and last but not least the managers who are at the reigns.

Who Are the Favorites to Win the UCL 2020/21?

 At the beginning of every football season, there are so many speculations about who is going to win the Champions League. So, if you are interested to know who are the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League title contenders, we created a shortlist of the top 5 favorites that you can see here:

• Bayern Munich

• Paris Saint-Germain

• Atletico Madrid

• Chelsea

• Manchester City

Now let’s get down to business and have a close look at each of these clubs and figure out why they have a better chance of winning the title compared to the other giants of European football and why we recognized them as

contenders 2021/22.

Bayern Munich

Having one of the best number 9 players in the world alongside a strong German core in the squad made Bayern Munich one of the most complete and well-balanced teams across Europe. In the summer transfer window, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, and Jerome Boateng left the Bavarian side after serving the club for so many years. On the other hand, Bayern Munich purchased Dayot Upamecano from Leipzig for a transfer fee of €42.50M to inject some new blood in its defense. Apart from that, Bayern seems to have no problem in other positions and that’s why they are not as much active as the other

Champions League title contenders 2021/22

in the summer.

In the last season of Champions League, Bayern reached to the quarter-finals without losing any match and just one draw in the group stage. In the round of 16 Bayern crashed Lazio with an aggregate score of 6-2 to face against Paris Saint-Germain. The first leg match between the finalists of 2020 Champions League was one of the most intense games of the recent years and at the end Bayern lost the game 3-2. Bayern managed to win the second leg in Paris with one goal but they got eliminated due to the away goals rule and their European journey came to an end in the quarter-finals.

In terms of domestic competitions, Bayern suffered a shocking loss against Holstein Kiel in the second round of DFB Pokal. But apart from that it was business as usual for Felick’s men and they won the league with 13 points clear from 

. They also managed to win the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla and in addition to that, Bayern won the FIFA Club World Cup without conceding any goal. So, it is fair to say that Hansi Flick had a really decent farewell season at Bayern Munich and the club is certainly on a successful path that could bring them a Champions League trophy this season.

The champions of UCL in 2020 started a new era with Julian Nagelsmann this summer as Hansi Flick left to take the German national team job. Nagelsmann is just 34 years old and he already cemented his place as one of the most exciting football coaches in the world. Nagelsmann had two successful seasons at Leipzig and managed to reach to a last 16 and a semi-final round with the club. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he leads Bayern to the UCL final in Saint Petersburg, Russia and even win the competition. 

Paris Saint-Germain

Arguably Paris Saint-Germain had the best transfer window in the history of football and that’s why we can’t ignore them as one of

top 5 contenders UEFA Champions League 2020/21

. They hijacked Georginio Wijnaldum from Barcelona, and also brought Sergio Ramos, one of the best Centre Backs of history, Lionel Messi, the greatest player of all time, and Antonio Donnarumma, the best player of EURO 2020, all on free transfers. If that is not enough for you, they also purchased Achraf Hakimi, one of the current best right-backs in the world from Inter for €60.00M. And don’t forget they already had Neymar, Mbappe,

, and Marquinhos in their squad.

So, you could say that PSG has the strongest squad in Europe but we all know you can’t win the trophies just because you have big names in your starting XI. A proof of that is the last season of French Ligue 1, where the underdogs Lille managed to finish the league above Paris Saint-Germain and be crowned as the champions of France. PSG started the last season with Thomas Tuchel and topped their UCL group above Leipzig and Manchester United. But in December Tuchel got dismissed and Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as the new head coach of the Parisians. 

While they were chasing Lille in the Ligue 1, Pochettino had to prepare his men to face against Barcelona in the round of 16 of UCL. In the first leg at Nou Camp, PSG dominated the game and won 4-1 with Mbappe scoring a hattrick. After a 1-1 draw in the second leg PSG advanced to the quarter-finals where they won over Bayern Munich in a close tie. Now PSG were in semi-finals and one step away from their second consecutive UCL final but they had to beat Man City in order to achieve that.

Pochettino and his men lost both home and away legs to Guardiola’s City and had to head back home with a tear in their eyes. But this season could be a whole different story with having both Real Madrid and Barcelona former captains in their squad. It is safe to say that Paris Saint-Germain is the most favorite to win the title amongst the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League title contenders.

managed to led Tottenham to a UCL final in 2019 and now he has the chance to finish the job and win his first European trophy with one of the best squads in Europe.

Atletico Madrid 

Well, we get it if you feel odd about having Atletico Madrid as the only Spanish club in our

Champions League title contenders 2021/22

shortlist. But it is safe to say that while the both of Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are experiencing a transition phase, Atletico Madrid has a higher chance to advance in their European campaign and reach to their third UCL final under Diego Simeone. Up to this day, Atletico didn’t lose any of their main squad players and also, they bought Rodrigo Javier de Paul, one of the best midfielders in Europe for €35.00M from Udinese. The Argentinian was named as the best Serie A midfielder in the last season and surely, he is a huge upgrade for Simeone’s side.

There are also rumors that Atletico might be adding another world-class player to their attacking line and it could be Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina. But even if they don’t inject any new player to their squad, they still have a solid starting XI that could make trouble for every other European team in the Champions League 2020/21. In the last season's UCL, Atletico didn’t have a promising start as they only had two wins in a group consisted of Bayer Munich, Red Bull Salzburg and

.

It seemed like Diego Simeone has gone all-in to stay at the top of the table in

and maybe that could explain why they got knocked-out in the first elimination round of the UCL 2020-21. They had to face Chelsea and before the kick-off whistle, Chelsea was considered as the underdogs given to their recent managerial change. But it turned out that Thomas Tuchel just knows how he can stop Atletico Madrid from creating chances and Simeone’s men couldn’t find the net in the whole 180 minutes against Chelsea. But don’t let their poor performance in their last UCL run fools you.

Diego Simeone has led Atletico Madrid to two UCL finals and a semi-final in the last decade and there is no reason that he couldn’t do it one more time. Arguably they have a stronger starting line-up compared to their last UCL finalist squads. A natural born goal scorer like Luis Suarez alongside a highly talented Joao Felix could open up every defense line. And with having one of the top 3 best goalkeepers in your goal and Diego Simeone as the coach, you don’t need to worry about conceding goals. That is why we think Atletico Madrid is one of the Champions League title contenders 2021/22 and they can enjoy their first ever Champions League trophy this season.

Chelsea

When talking about

Champions League title contenders 2021/22

, you can’t forget about the titleholders. The English side used the summer transfer window to reinforce their attacking line. After both Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham left the club to play for Milan and Roma respectively, Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku for a huge transfer fee of €115.00M from Inter. Lukaku had two wonderful seasons under Antonio Conte at Serie A and he is not the same striker that left Manchester United in 2019. Having a number 9 at Lukaku’s caliber surely is a huge upgrade for Chelsea’s squad.

Just like their path to the 2012 UEFA Champions League glory, Chelsea had to hire a new manager at midseason to accomplish their European goals. After a good start in European campaign with Frank Lampard, Chelsea topped their group with four wins and two draws against

and Krasnodar. At that point Lampard got sacked by Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel, who also got sacked by PSG in the same season, arrived at Chelsea. On the round of 16 Chelsea had to face the in-form Atletico Madrid who were at the top of the La Liga and went on to win the league at the end of the season. 

But Chelsea put on a decent show and kept a clean sheet on both leg while scoring 3 goals in aggregate. Then they had to fight against Porto who eliminated Juventus in the las round. Once again Chelsea didn’t budge and secured a 2-1 win in aggregate. At the semi-finals, Thomas Tuchel had a big clash with Zidane and after a draw in the first leg, he managed to have a 2-0 win in the second leg to secure a place at final.  An all-English final between Chelsea and one of our other Champions League Title Contenders 2021/22, Manchester City, took place in Portugal which at the end Chelsea won the game by Kai Havertz’s goal in the first half.

Chelsea has a good combination of well experienced veteran players such as Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta alongside young and exciting talents like Reece James, Mason Mount, and

.  In addition to that, unlike last season, Thomas Tuchel had the whole summer to train his men and implant his ideas into the team and prepare them for a new challenge. The German coach already showed that he can dominate games against Europe giant clubs and that is why we think Chelsea is one of the Champions League title contenders 2021/22. 

Manchester City

The next club on our Champions League title contenders 2021/22 is Manchester city, the other finalist from last season’s UCL. Pep Guardiola has won every possible trophy in English domestic football at least once, but if he doesn’t add a Big Ear trophy to Citizen’s cabinet, his career at Man City could be considered as a failure. Maybe that is why they decided to go all-in for 

 star Jack Grealish and spent €117.50m to sign him. But still, they lack a goal poacher in front of their attack specially after Sergio Aguero left the club in the summer.

Harry Kane would be the perfect fit for Manchester City but as of today, he seems like is not leaving Tottenham and City has to look else where for a high-caliber finisher. If they manage to sign a capable number 9 who can lead their attack, then they are easily one of the strongest 

2021–22 UEFA Champions League title contenders

. But even if that doesn’t happen, City still has Gabriel Jesus and they also can use Raheem Sterling or Ferran Torres as a false nine, something that Pep tried last season and it turned out well for them. 

Manchester City had a good run on their last season UCL campaign. They started strong from the very beginning and ended the group stage with conceding only one goal. It seemed like Pep finally has found his ideal defensive combination and reaching to their net was almost impossible for the opponents. City had to eliminate a couple of Bundesliga sides to reach to the semi-finals. They had an easy 4-0 win on aggregate against Borussia Monchengladbach and two back-to-back 2-1 wins against Dortmund in quarter-finals. As mentioned above, even PSG were not good enough to stop Man City reaching the final and they got knocked-out with a 4-1 aggregate score.

Many accused Pep Guardiola with overthinking in the last season’s UCL final as he left out both of his defensive midfielders from starting line-up and Chelsea took advantage of it to win the whole tournament. We should wait and see what Pep has learned from that final and is he able to lead 

to its second ever UCL final or not. After reaching to three consecutive semi-finals with Bayern Munich and losing in all of them, many regard Pep’s career at Germany as an unsuccessful spell despite all of his domestic trophies and the same thing could happen for him at his current club. This season maybe Pep’s last chance to win his first UCL trophy after he left Barcelona and create a legendary legacy at Manchester City.

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