Action returned in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League last week, following what was an exhilarating campaign last time out.
The 2018-19 Champions League will go down, as one of the most exciting, unpredictable and frankly ludicrous competitions there has been since the competition took on its current format from the European Cup in 1992.
Liverpool will be looking to defend their title after ending Real Madrid’s stranglehold on the competition while the likes of Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona, PSG and Real themselves, will all be looking for improvement, following below par performances in the previous campaign.
While the 2018-19 Champions League will be largely remembered for the improbable comebacks launched by Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United, it was also a season in which a number of young players emerged, as future stars of the game.
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Ajax’s remarkable run to the semi-final was achieved by a youthful team, containing Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong, both of whom have since joined Juventus and Barcelona, respectively and it will be interesting to see which players can make a similar impression this time around.
Here are five players under 21 years, who can catch the eye in what will be their first taste of the Champions League:
Ansu Fati (Barcelona) Age: 16 Position: Winger
Fatai started last Tuesday’s away tie against Borrussia Dortmund only to be substituted by the legendary Lionel Messi.
Fati has been the revelation of the season in La Liga, becoming Barcelona’s youngest-ever goalscorer on his debut against Osasuna and following that up with a further strike and assist during the home 5-2 thrashing of Valencia.
Having contributed a goal or assist every 39 minutes in La Liga this term, Fati was rewarded by being included in Barcelona’s squad against Dortmund. Spain, Portugal and Guinea-Bissau are already battling it out to secure his international status.
Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) Age: 21 Position: Striker
It is a testament of Tammy Abraham’s strength of character, not to mention his footballing ability, that his penalty miss in the European Super Cup has largely been forgotten, following an incredible run of form in the Premier League.
Five games into the season and there is a two-way tie at the top of the Premier League’s goalscoring charts with Abraham, matching Manchester City’s prolific Sergio Aguero with seven goals – a total which included a brilliant hat-trick against Wolves.
Of all the Champions League’s groups, Chelsea’s is arguably the most interesting as all four teams are in a state of regeneration, with Ajax and Lille, having to remodel their squads after losing key players over the summer and internal conflict rife at Valencia following Marcelino’s sacking.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are building a new look side centred around academy graduates with the in-form Abraham, leading the way from the front.
Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) Age: 19 Position: Forward
Joao Felix was yet to fully break into Benfica’s first team during last season’s Champions League campaign, making just one solitary appearance, as The Eagles exited the group stages after finishing behind Bayern Munich and Ajax.
In hindsight, that wasn’t particularly disastrous, as they enjoyed an eye-catching run in the Europa League instead, with Felix emerging as one of the stars of the competition, scoring three goals and registering one assist during their march to the quarter finals. Felix’s sensational form in the second half of the season saw him heralded, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s heir with Atletico Madrid duly paying £113m to sign him in July. An impressive start in La Liga suggests that Felix is ready to take the Champions League by storm.
Dani Olmo (Dinamo Zagreb) Age: 21 Position: Winger
Dani Olmo’s route to the top hasn’t been a typical one. Olmo started out with Espanyol before spending seven years in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy prior to making the surprise decision to pack his bags and head to Croatia to join Dinamo Zagreb.
It is a decision that has been vindicated with Olmo, winning four league titles, three domestic cups and scooping up Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.
So majestic has Olmo been, Croatia even made a cheeky attempt to try and snare him from Spain’s clutches. They are unlikely to succeed, however, with Olmo playing an important role in Spain’s successful U21 European Championship this summer, top-scoring for the competition winners with three goals. Olmo followed that up with three goals and three assists in five Champions League qualifying games to drag Dinamo into the group stages and if they are to spring a surprise and progress from a group containing Manchester City, he will certainly have played a key role.
Erling Braut Haland (Red Bull Salzburg) Age: 19 Position: Striker
As part of Red Bull’s stable of football clubs, Salzburg like German side RB Leipzig, have a transfer policy centred around signing young players from untapped nations and regions who can then be developed into major stars.
The Austrian side boasts a few exciting talents in their ranks ahead of a first Champions League group stage appearance since 1994, including Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai and the bruising Norwegian centre-forward Erling Braut Haland.
Haland, the son of former Leeds defender, Alf-Inge, only joined in the summer from Molde but already has 11 goals in only seven Austrian Bundesliga appearances this season, off the back of a remarkable U20 World Cup in which he scored nine times in one game against Honduras.
Salzburg, like Dinamo Zagreb, aren’t expected to reach the knockout rounds, but both Liverpool and Napoli will have to be alive to the threat posed by Haland.
