ETWhere: Allianz StadiumTV: TUDN, UnivisionChannel finder: Verizon Fios, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling. Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial), Paramount+***The Champions League returns on Tuesday to a very different European soccer scene than it was before a three-month midseason break. In the interim, Lionel Messi won his first World Cup title.
That cash now looks almost essential to Chelsea after a season of lavish transfer spending signed off by American owner Todd Boehly. Chelsea plays a Dortmund team third in the Bundesliga, just three points behind Bayern, without yet seeming a convincing title challenger. HALLER’S RETURNDortmund already has a great comeback story: Sébastien Haller’s return from a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy treatment. Haller should make his European debut for Dortmund eight months since he was the club’s marquee summer signing to replace Erling Haaland. Haaland had five goals for Manchester City in the group, including in a 2-1 home win over Dortmund.
Not so, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. Nor AC Milan, Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Club Brugge. None is currently on track to qualify for next season’s competition. For Liverpool and Chelsea, European champions in 2019 and 2021, actually winning another final on June 10 in Istanbul might be their best chance of being in the group-stage draw in August. That should be worth about 100 million euros ($107 million) in UEFA prize money.
The other game Tuesday pairs AC Milan and Tottenham, two of the seven round-of-16 teams that are currently outside the Champions League qualifying places in their domestic leagues. Chelsea is another and visits Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, when Club Brugge hosts Benfica. Four more first-leg games are scheduled Feb. 21-22. MESSI QUESTAt age 35, Messi finally has a World Cup title for Argentina. Now back to the business of winning a fifth Champions League.
He must wait another week to travel back to Germany for the first leg against Leipzig. DARK HORSESNapoli and Benfica topped their groups in November — ahead of Liverpool and PSG, respectively — to be seeded in the draw and avoid teams like Madrid, Bayern and Man City. Napoli travels to Eintracht Frankfurt on Feb. 21, and Benfica plays Wednesday at Brugge. Both are set up for domestic titles after strong returns from the World Cup break. Could an elusive Champions League title follow? Benfica has not been European champion since 1962, Napoli never got close. However, Napoli mostly stayed out of January trading while Benfica sold Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea for a British record fee of about 120 million euros ($128 million).