A crunch of UEFA Women’s Champions League finals is on the cards as FC Barcelona women will be taking on Wolfsburg women. Both clubs aim to impress Eindhoven and take the trophy from record holders Olympique Lyon women. The two clubs are familiar with the competition’s finals, with Wolfsburg being a two-time winner and Barcelona being a one-time winner.
The exhilarating semi-finals
The exciting semi-finals pitted the Spanish and German giants against two of the finest English clubs. While FC Barcelona was facing Chelsea women in their semi-finals clash, Wolfsburg had to take on a resilient Arsenal aiming for their second women’s European title.
The first leg of the FC Barcelona women’s clashes ended in a 1-0 win in favor of the Catalan women, with Caroline Hansen scoring the lone goal. Hansen scored again in the second leg to put Barcelona in front before Guro Reiten equalized for the Blues. Despite eliminating the title holders, Olympique Lyon women, Chelsea had to bow out of the competition on an inferior goal difference.
The much coveted UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy. FC Barcelona Women will be battling it out with Wolfsburg Women in the finals for the trophy. Photo Credits: UEFA Women’s Champions League
The other semi-finals recorded a first-leg draw at the Volkswagen Arena in Germany, with each club scoring two goals. Pador and Jonsdottir scored for Wolfsburg, while Souza and Blackstenius scored for Arsenal. The second leg at the sold-out Emirates stadium was one to remember, with 5 goals shared between the two clubs. Blackstenius scored first for the Gunner ladies before Roord and Popp scored for the Germans. Beattie equalized for Arsenal before a minute 119 goal dented the hopes of Arsenal adding to their trophy cabinet.
An exciting Eindhoven final will be a Germany versus Spain affair, with the trophy being acquired from France, who have won 6 of the last 7 editions.
Previous final performances of the finalists
FC Barcelona won the 2020-21 edition of the Cup after beating Chelsea women by 1 goal to nil in the finals. They have also lost 2 finals to Lyon women. On the other hand, VFL Wolfsburg won the trophy in the consecutive years of 2013 and 2014. They beat Lyon women in 2013 and Tyreso women in 2014. They have also lost 3 finals, all of them to Lyon women, who have always been a force to reckon with in the Cup.
A UEFA Women’s Champions League final worth your time
This is proving to be a final of veterans and not the first-timers, with the game being predicted as an upcoming cracker. Whoever wins the UEFA Women’s Champions League finals will be adding to another of their European trophies. This is one game to look forward to.
Manchester United are seeking to sign a new goal keeper, their main target, Dominic Livakovic. He has developed into one of the most prolific goalkeepers and has proven himself on the world stage. He plays as the number one Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper and doubles up as the Croatian national team goalkeeper. His impressive performances at club and national team levels are why he is now considered one of the most sought-after goalkeepers.
Livakovic exploits at club level
Livakovic was born on the 9th of January 1995 in Zadar, Croatia. He started his club career at the NK Zagreb team, where he made his senior debut on the 31st of August 2012. He joined Dinamo Zagreb at the beginning of the 2015/16 season and debuted for the club on the 2nd of October 2016. Since then, he has stayed at Dinamo Zagreb, playing a crucial role in their hunt for accolades.
At Dinamo Zagreb, he holds the record for the longest time since the start of the season without conceding a goal. He set the record of 535 minutes on the 2nd of August 2019 while playing against Gorica. His most impressive club performance for Dinamo Zagreb was noticed in the 2020-21 Europa League group stages. During that season, he conceded only one goal in 5 group-stage games while saving a crucial penalty. He was also instrumental when they eliminated Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 of the competition granting Zagreb their first Europa League quarter-finals appearance in history.
Dinamo Zagreb’s number one has been linked to a number of top sides following his great consistent performances. Photo Credits: Dinamo Zagreb
Livakovic exploits for the Croatian team
Dominik Livakovic earned his first international call-up to the Croatian National team in May 2016. He had to wait until 2017 to debut against Chile in the China Cup. In 2018, the Dinamo Zagreb shot stopper got the significant call-up to join the Croatian National team for the World Cup, where he won a silver medal after finishing runners-up to France. He did not play a game during the tournament, with Daniel Subasic being the leading man.
He was finally rewarded with his first competitive debut against England in a goalless Nations League match. It took several disappointing performances by Lovre Kalinic for Livakovic to be considered Croatia’s number 1 goalkeeper. He started playing this role satisfactorily against Wales on the 8th of June 2019.
His most impressive performances were noticed at the 2022 world cup, where he played eight matches for Croatia. He kept two clean sheets against Morocco and Belgium in the group stages and helped his team advance to the round of 16, where they faced Japan. His three crucial penalty saves ensured his team qualified for the quarter-finals.
He saved another crucial penalty against Brazil in the quarter-finals. He ensured they got to the competition’s semi-finals for the second consecutive edition, where they were beaten 3-0 by Argentina. He, however, became the 15th player ever to be awarded a 10/10 performance by France magazine L’Equipe for his heroics against Morocco as they settled for the bronze medal.
His world cup heroics have massively contributed to him being wanted by several clubs since he has proven to be a technically gifted player.
The Manchester United target has played at least 388 club games since he started playing his trade for Zagreb. These include at least 300 league and 70 European games. For the Croatian national team, he has played a total of 43 games.
Honours
The Dinamo Zagreb shot stopper started winning trophies as early as 2014 with NK Zagreb, where they won the Croatian championship. At Dinamo Zagreb, he has won 5 league cups, two Croatian and two Croatian super cups. He won the world cup silver medal with Croatia while adding another bronze medal in the last world cup edition.
Livakovic in action for Dinamo Zagreb. The shot stopper has been linked with a move to Manchester United. Photo Credits: Dinamo Zagreb
Individual Honours
He has been named to the Croatian league team of the year seven times and named Croatian’s best goalkeeper for four consecutive years since 2019. After his superb performances, he was named to the Europa League breakthrough team of 2018. In 2020/21, he was named to the Europa League squad of the season.
How much will it cost Manchester United to get Livakovic
The Croatian has a release clause of around 8.9 million euros that Manchester United is seemingly ready to pay. They are currently the only major club interested in the Croatian international, seeking to level up on David De Gea. If they can pay this release clause, Dominik Livakovic might make his appearance at Manchester United next season.
The Serie A top four race is taking shape as Napoli are carving themselves out as the clear favorites to win the league. With the league being considered a done assignment by Napoli who are having an impressive 75 points lead. 6 other top clubs are fighting for the coveted champions league spots. Maurizio Sarri’s side Lazio have been impressive this season and have maintained the second spot for the past few weeks. They have amassed 61 points from 31 games.
Lazio have beaten all odds and have played their cards well as they aim to make a comeback to the champions league where they last appeared seasons ago. Juventus are in third spot after their initially deducted points were granted back to them. Juventus had been deducted 15 points after breaking some key Serie A rules but recently they have been granted back the points that have pushed them back to 3rd position. They currently have 59 points.
AC Milan or Roma, who misses out?
Rafael Leao celebrating his goal for AC Milan. Photo Credits: Serie A
AC Milan complete the fourth spot with 56 points gained, same as Roma who have an inferior goal difference and who have taken position five. AS Roma lost the chance of joining the top 4 after losing to Atalanta 3-1 during the last game week. Atalanta are now in 6th position, 4 points off the top. Inter Milan are in 5th position after securing three points away at Empoli over the weekend.
Juventus would have taken the second position but unfortunately lost their home game to Napoli courtesy of a late Raspadori strike. Lazio also lost at home to Torino and failed to consolidate their second place.
The top four race in Serie A is still open with five clubs fighting to join the lethal Napoli side in next season’s competition. The clubs whose cards will be played well will be the winners of the day. Seven more game weeks will determine the top four. Who will taste Champions League football next season?
The UEFA Euros 2020 kicks off today. Although the Euros was scheduled to occur last year, it was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The football calendar was hugely disrupted after most domestic leagues were either canceled or suspended and then resumed months later. As a result, the 2020 edition of the European football tournament was rescheduled to June 2021. Turkey and Italy face off in Rome tonight to get the tournament underway. The Euros 2020 is set to occur between today, June 11, 2021, and run through to July 11, 2021. The twenty-four teams that qualified are going to play 51 matches in 11 European cities. The semi-finals and finals will be played at Wembley Stadium.
UEFA Euro 2020 banner.
UEFA Euros 2020 kicks off. The breakdown of the groups.
Group A is made up of Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, and Wales. Group B sees 2016 semi-finalists Belgium alongside Russia, Denmark, and Finland. Ukraine, Netherlands, Austria, and North Macedonia make up Group C. Group D feature England, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Scotland. The winners of Euro 2012, Spain, join Poland, Sweden, and Slovakia in group E. Finally, Euro 2016 winners Portugal are grouped alongside France, Germany and Hungary in Group F.
The UEFA Euros 2020 kicks off today at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, with Turkey facing Italy. The other matches take place across ten cities in the following stadiums:
Olympic Stadium, Baku
St Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam
Wembley Stadium, London
National Arena, Bucharest
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Estadio La Cartuja, Seville
Fußball Arena Munchen, Munich
Puskas Arena, Budapest
The semi-finals and the final take place at the Wembley Stadium, London.
Fans are allowed to attend live matches after each of the 11 venues received clearance. Saint Petersburg and Baku are allowed up to 50 capacity while Budapest can be filled. Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Rome, and Seville can host between 25 to 45 percent. London is set to a minimum capacity of 25 percent. Finally, Munich can fill around 22 percent of the stadium capacity.
Barcelona has emerged as favorites to sign Sergio Kun Aguero. The Argentinian striker’s contract with Manchester City expires at the end of June 2021. Faced with the prospect of getting little playtime in the newly crowned Premier League champions next season, Aguero has decided to part ways with the club. Indeed, the citizens’ record goalscorer, who has garnered 258 goals in 387 appearances, only mastered 18 outings this season, scoring four goals.
Sergio Aguero, City’s record goalscorer, set to leave the club. (Image: Getty Images)
With Aguero being 33 years old when the next season commences after the European tournament, is Barcelona turning into a retirement home? Sure, if Aguero can avoid injuries, he is still one of the best strikers in the world and would improve the Catalan club’s team. However, the question of the average age of the Barcelona squad comes into play. While at first glance, the club boasts of their youngest roster in 7 seasons, averaging just 25.5 years, most of their first team players and the backbone of the team are aging.
Aguero could reunite with Argentinian team mate Messi at Barcelona. Image: (Jaime Reina /AFP via Getty Images)
Barcelona favorites to sign Aguero. A veteran joining an aging squad.
Barcelona certainly has a bright future ahead. They have many talented young players with great potentials. Half of their 24-man squad in La Liga this season is aged 25 or below. This list includes Lenglet (25), Junior Firpo (24), De Jong (23), Dembélé (23), Aleñá (22), Matheus Fernandes (22), Araujo (21), Riqui Puig (21), Trincao (20), Dest (20), Ansu Fati (18) and Pedri (17). However, they are pretty inexperienced and can’t be relied upon over a season. The backbone of the team is either 30+ or approaching that number. They are Umtiti (26), Coutinho (28), Ter Stegen (28), Sergi Roberto (28), Braithwaite (29), Griezmann (29), Pjanic (30), Neto (31), Jordi Alba (31), Sergio Busquets (32), Leo Messi (33) and Piqué (33).
Barcelona’s squad a mix of inexperienced youngsters and aging veterans. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
While there are a few players in the world who don’t seem to be held back by age, that is usually an exception. Most players struggle with injuries and fitness after hitting 30, especially if they got into the first team as teenagers. As such, Barcelona emerging favorites to sign Aguero doesn’t reflect well from a squad building point of view.
Mason Mount once again had an outstanding performance in a Chelsea shirt last night. Mount was instrumental in the Blues dominating performance against Atletico Madrid. Chelsea won by a goal to nil in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockout tie played in Romania. In the Atletico Madrid box, Mason Mount’s high press led to Hermoso’s attempted clearance falling kindly for Giroud. The Frenchman scored a wonder goal, which was his sixth in the 2020/21 Champions League season.
Mason Mount is starting to prove his critics wrong.
During Frank Lampard’s reign as Chelsea manager, he came under heavy criticism over what some fans and pundits saw as playing favorites. They claimed that Frank Lampard was not selecting the matchday lineups based on players’ form. Much of this criticism involved Mason Mount, one of the first names on the Chelsea team sheet. Mount played almost every game, even as player rotation due to the congested fixtures became the new norm following the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, he made 53 appearances in all competitions under Lampard last season. His critics felt that his return of eight goals and six assists did not justify playing that many games. His run of games continued into this season, making a total of 27 outings. Fitting that one of Lampard’s last actions in charge of the Blues was to name him captain in their 3-1 victory over Luton Town in the FA Cup fourth-round tie.
Mason Mount with former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.
With Thomas Tuchel taking over as Chelsea manager following Frank Lampard’s sacking, many saw this as the end of Mount’s run of games. And they may have thought they were right when Tuchel named the Cobham graduate on the bench for his first game in charge against Wolves. However, he has featured frequently under the German coach since then. Tuchel had some high praises for him.
I cannot tell you where the limit is, and I don’t want to put a limit on his development. It is obvious he has a lot of potential, he is a great footballer and super nice guy, eager to learn, hungry to win, open-minded, and for that, I think that for him, he can perform for any manager.
Thomas Tuchel
Mason Mount with current Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel
You can watch the midweek Premier League action on some Tv/broadcasting channels: Amazon, Bein Sports, Dstv as well among others. The English Premier League match week 21 has been quite eventful. Lot’s of great matches were served to fans worldwide. Manchester City fired one goal past Sheffield United. With this result, they maintain the top spot. Manchester United shared spoils with Arsenal. They have maintained the second position for the second game week running. A win against West Ham has pushed Liverpool back to the top 3. This has happened at the expense of a Leicester City loss. A slight slip changes the outlook of the EPL table. This makes the EPL even more enjoyable. As the title race continues taking shape, more matches are set to be played this coming week. The big question is, where can you catch the matches live? Worry not, for the solution lies here.
WhereToCatchTheEPLMidweek Action
Tuesday The 2nd Of February
Sheffield United vs. West Brom 1800Hrs(GMT), 2100Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Variety 2
Bein Sports HD 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Arsenal 1800Hrs(GMT), 2100Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Premier League
Supersport Football
Bein Sports HD 1
Man United vs. Southampton 2015Hrs(GMT), 2315Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Grandstand
Supersport Premier League
Bein Sports HD 1
Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace 2015Hrs(GMT), 2315Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Variety 2
Bein Sports HD 2
Wednesday The 3rd of February
Burnley vs. Man City 1800Hrs(GMT), 2100Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Grandstand
Supersport Premier League
Bein Sports HD 1
Fulham vs. Leicester City 1800Hrs(GMT), 2100Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Premier League
Bein Sports HD 2
Leeds United vs. Everton 1930Hrs(GMT), 2200Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Football
Supersport Football Plus
Aston Villa vs. West Ham 2015Hrs(GMT), 2315Hrs(EAT)
Tottenham Hotspurs vs. Chelsea 2000Hrs(GMT), 2300Hrs(EAT)
Supersport Premier League
Supersport Grandstand
Bein 4K
Match of the week
This is the undisputed match of the week. A London derby is always one to look forward to. Who does not look forward to a derby match? What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that Jose Mourinho is facing his former employer. A cracker surely awaits. Man United versus Southampton is another match to look forward to. Both clubs have been promising this season. Will Arsenal soldier towards the top 4 with a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers? An exciting match week awaits.
The EPL table is bound to change as soon as match week one completes. While some clubs push for the title, others will be fighting for a top-four finish. Hopefully, you will enjoy this one, won’t you? Always here to ensure you know where you can watch Premier league matches every week.
UEFA Champions League vs Premier League: which one would you pick? European football competitions happen to be the most lucrative around the world. The clubs with the most fans generally ply their trade in Europe. Amongst them all, two competitions stand out, the English Premier League and the UEFA champions league. The two happen to have a massive fan-base around the world. This is how they compare in some aspects. UEFA was established in 1954 in Switzerland. Its main aim was for Europe to have an independent football governing body. The premier league, on the other hand, was established in 1992. This came after an agreement between division one clubs to break away from Football League. The Premier League offered better television rights deals.
Moreover, it happens to have more fans than the UEFA Champions League. This is shown by statistics, especially on merchandise sales. In 2020 alone, three premier league clubs made it to the top 10 most selling jerseys list. Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal sold more jerseys than Real Madrid. Real happen to be the most successful club in Champions League history. This shows that the EPL is more popular than the Champions League.
Why Did the Two Competitions Start?
UEFA Champions League
Today’s Champions League, formerly the Champions Cup, was born from the idea of the sports editor of the French L’Equipe, Gabriel Ano, who proposed the creation of a competition that would decide which is the best club in Europe. The idea arose in response to the claims of some British newspapers that Wolverhampton is the best club in the world because he beat Honved from Hungary with a score of 3:2 at home in 1954.
The first official match of the Champions Cup was played on September 4, 1955, when Sporting Lisbon and Partizan Belgrade met. In 1966, Belgrade’s “Black and White”also played the final against Real Madrid at Brussels Heysel, but after a 1:0 lead, they were defeated 2:1.
The first Champions League season
After 1991, the cup system was abolished, and it was replaced by a group competition system, which brought with it an expansion of the number of participants. Some of the biggest changes took place after the 1997/98 season, when it was decided that in addition to the champions of one country, the teams that took one of the first four places in the best leagues, depending on the coefficient, would participate in the Champions League. This move significantly contributed to the increase in the quality of the League itself, and on the other hand, made the path to the strongest competition very difficult for teams from less developed European countries.
Sporting Lisbon and Partizan Belgrade played the inaugural game of UEFA European Cup. Photo Credits: FootyFair
In the first season of the competition, 16 teams participated, some champions of their countries, some clubs that were at that time highly respected by UEFA. Later, the number of participants was limited only to the winning clubs of the domestic leagues. This qualification system was current until 1997. From the 1997/98 season, the rules were changed to give the tournament more tension (and additional sponsor money). Clubs from the strongest European leagues that were not national champions could qualify as runners-up, and later as third- and fourth-placers in their league.
Recent changes to the Champions League as from 2024/2025
From the 2024/2025 season, the biggest European football competition – the Champions League will be played in a significantly different format. The main changes will be that there will no longer be entries based on national coefficients, as well as that there will be more participants. For example, in the Champions League we will have thirty-six (36) instead of the previous thirty-two (32) clubs.
UEFA started these negotiations in Madrid on Monday, and continued them on Tuesday and then officially announced that there will be a different appearance, first of all, of its biggest competition. A place higher in the Champions League will be given to the fifth country in the UEFA ranking, which has been France for years, but Portugal has come close to the results in recent years. The second one will arrive through the “championship road” qualification, where instead of the previous four (4), in the future five teams (5) will trace their way to the elite. The two new places will be given to the strongest leagues in Europe, that is, two clubs that, according to the coefficients from the previous season only (so not from the total five-year sum), and which did not secure placement through the domestic framework, would play in the Champions League.
Real Madrid with the trophy after winning the first final. Real Madrid is the most successful side in the cups history Photo Credits: UEFA
Champions League Hall of fame
The first title in the newly formed Champions League was won by Olympique Marseille in 1993 after the victory against Milan in the final, while Nottingham Forest is the only team that has won the title of European champion more times than titles in the domestic championship. The English club is the only team that was relegated to the second division in its country in the season that followed after winning the Champions Cup.
The most convincing victory in the history of this competition was achieved by Juventus on December 10, 2003 against Olympiakos with a score of 7:0. In the Champions Cup, the biggest victory was achieved by Dinamo Bucharest against the Crusaders in the 1973/74 season with a score of 11:0. The biggest victory by total score was achieved by Benfica against Dudelange in 1965/66 with a total score of 18:0. Moreover, the most goals in one game, and there were 14, was seen in the 1969/70 season in the match between Feyenoord and Reykjavík 12:2.
Olympique de Marseille’s players celebrate winning the Champions League in May 1993. Photo Credits: Getty Images
UEFA Champions League anthem
The Champions League anthem, which is sung before the start of each match, is based on the theme of George Frideric Handel and his coronation anthem “Zadok the Priest”, performed by the St. Martin’s Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London.
How are UEFA fixtures played and decided
The competition starts with four qualifying rounds. In each round, two games are played, one at home and one away. Since the 2009/10 season, starting from the third round of qualifications, the clubs are divided into two parts, one for the national champions and one for the clubs that qualified by finishing 2-4 in the national championship places. This was done in order to make it easier for the national champions to reach the group competition.
Clubs that are defeated in the third round of the Champions League qualification and playoffs continue their competition in the Europa League. After the qualifying rounds, 32 clubs are divided into eight groups of four teams each. A mini-league is played in which each club plays each of the three opponents at home and away. In the end, the two first-placed teams advance to the round of 16 of the Champions League, while the third-placed team continues the competition in the Europa League.
Sixteen clubs continue to play in the finals, starting with the round of 16, the winners enter the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finally the two best teams meet in the final. On 24 June 2021, UEFA approved a proposal to abolish the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions from the 2021–22 season. The final is played in a predetermined stadium (not necessarily neutral) and only one match is played.
Premier League
Despite the considerable success of the clubs during the seventies and early eighties, in the late eighties English football was at its lowest point. Stadiums were dilapidated, spectators suffered poor conditions, hooliganism was at its peak, and English clubs were kicked out of European competitions for five years due to the Heysel tragedy in 1985. The First Division, which had been the top tier of English football since 1888, was far behind leagues such as Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s La Liga in terms of attendance and revenue, and as a result some of England’s best players left for those leagues. However, at the turn of the 1990s, the downward trend began to reverse; The English national team achieved success at the 1990 World Cup when they reached the semi-finals. UEFA lifted the ban on English clubs (resulting in the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup) and the Taylor Report into stadium safety was delivered in January of that year.
Why the Premier League is so rich?
Money from TV rights became much more important: the Football League received £6.3 million over two years. When the contract was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44 million over four years. The negotiations of 1988 showed the first signs of a turnaround in the English league; ten clubs threatened to leave the league and create their own “super league”, but were still convinced to stay. As stadiums improved and profits began to rise, the country’s biggest clubs once again began to consider leaving the Football League to take advantage of the growing cash flow. At the end of the 1991 season, a proposal was made to establish a new league that would bring in much more money in all spheres of football.
The break away from Football League to the present day Premier League
The Founder Members Agreement was signed on July 17, 1991 by all Premier League clubs and set the basic principles for the creation of the FA Premier League. The newly created top tier competition would have commercial independence from the Football Association (FA), allowing them to make their own TV rights and sponsorship deals. The strongest argument for the creation of a new league was that with additional income, English clubs would be able to compete with the biggest teams from Europe.
Preston North End, unbeaten in 22 games (1888). Photo Credits: The Guardian
The general manager of LWT (London Weekend Television), Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the “big five” clubs in 1990, which opened the way for the separation from the then football league. Dyke believed that it was more profitable for LWT if only the matches of the bigger clubs in the country were broadcast on national television and he wanted to see if the clubs would be interested in a bigger share of the money from the TV rights. The five clubs decided it was a good idea to go ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the support of the Football Association and as a result Arsenal’s David Dein halted negotiations to see if the FA would accept the idea. The FA was not on good terms with the Football League at the time and saw this as a way to weaken its position.
Clubs from the First Division left the Football League en masse in 1992 and on 27 May 1992 the Premier League was created as a limited liability company with an office at the Football Association headquarters. This marked a break with the 104-year-old Football League which until then contained four divisions; after that the Premier League contained only one division and the Football League three. There were no changes in the format of the competition: the same number of teams competed in the top tier, and entry and relegation from the Premier League remained the same (three teams were relegated and three entered).
The inaugural Premier League season (1992/93)
The first season of the Premier League was 1992/93 and was initially composed of 22 clubs. Bryan Dean scored the first goal in the Premier League for Sheffield United’s 2:1 win over Manchester United.
The first 22 clubs participating in the Premier League were:
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea
Coventry City
Crystal Palace
Southampton
Wimbledon
Everton
Ispwich Town
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur
Middlesbrough
Norwich City
Nottingham Forest
Oldham Athletic
Queens Park Rangers
Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday
Luton Town, Notts County and West Ham were the three teams relegated from the First Division in the 1991/92 season before the formation of the Premier League.
Ownership and Structure of the Premier League
At the insistence of FIFA to reduce the number of matches that teams play, the number of clubs was reduced to twenty in 1995, when four teams were eliminated and only two entered. The Premier League operates as a corporation and is owned by 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote on matters such as changes to rules and contracts. Clubs elect a president, executive director and board of directors to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the league. The football association is not directly involved in the everyday affairs of the Premier League, but it has the right of veto as a special shareholder during the election of the president and executive director, as well as when new rules are introduced.
Arsenal celebrating their notable invincibles Premier League victory in the 2003-2004 season. Arsenal is the only team that won the EPL without a single loss (26W 12D 0L). Photo Credits: Getty Images
20 clubs compete in the league, and at the end of the season, the three last-placed clubs are relegated to the Championship. The season lasts from August to May next year, and 38 rounds are played. The first 4 teams qualify for the UEFA Champions league group stage, the 5th qualifies to the Europa league and the 6th and 7th placed teams can play qualifications for Europa league or Europa Conference league depending on cup winners.
The Fan Base
Billions of fans watch the two competitions worldwide. However, the English Premier League has a more significant fan base than the UEFA Champions League. This can be attributed to the fact that the EPL is broadcasted almost every other weekend. English teams are also known as the football teams with the most fans around the world.
The Premier League is the most brilliant product of international football – perfectly marketed and sold around the world. Manchester United plays friendly matches in the USA in front of 100,000 spectators, while Arsenal promotes tourism in Rwanda on the sleeves of their jerseys. Four Premier League clubs have advertisements with Chinese characters on their shirts.
The champions league, on the other hand, is known to take extended breaks over time. The consistency in the English Premier League makes it more lucrative than the Champions League.
Alex Ferguson posing with the Champions League trophy and the Premier League trophy. Champions League vs Premier League: Ferguson chose both. Photo Credits: The Mirror
Ticket Sales
The UCL tickets are more expensive and highly bought than EPL ones. This is because Champions League matches are fewer than EPL ones. The fans, therefore, scramble for the few available tickets for limited games.
Sponsorship
Sponsors keep on changing on a seasonal basis. For the 2020/21 UCL seasons, eight sponsors are noted.
These Champions League sponsors are;
Nissan
Gazprom
Playstation
Heineken
Lays
Santander
MasterCard
Expedia
The Premier League, on the other hand, has eight sponsors too.These are;
EA Sports
Budweiser
Barclays
Coca-Cola
Nike
Hublot
Avery Dennison
Panini
It is worth noting that both competitions have shown their prowess by attracting decent sponsorship deals.
There is a football which, figuratively speaking, is worth fifty nine (59) million euros. For the past few years, Premier League marketers have been selling sports equipment manufacturers the rights to the “official ball” for English league matches. For some time now, that contract has belonged to Nike. In September of last year (2021), that company offered 59 million euros (yes, that’s the correct figure!) to buy the rights for Manchester, Liverpool, Chelsea and others to use the Nike ball until 2025.
Financial Gains
The UEFA Champions League pays better than the English Premier League. As for the prize money, the winner of UCL gets close to an average of 100 million euros after completing the event successfully. The EPL winner, on the other hand, can get an average of 170 million euros. With these stats, the Champions league pays much better per game. This is because a maximum of 15 games is played in the UCL season by a team. In the EPL, 38 matches must be played.
Clubs participating in the Champions League and UEFA competitions will earn a total of more than one billion and 2 hundred million euros this season (2022/2023) from marketing and selling the rights to televise matches in that competition. The profit from this year’s Champions League will be around 30 percent higher than in the previous season.
English professional clubs derive their strength from the piles of money at their disposal. The Premier League earns 6.9 billion euros from television rights in three years. In comparison, the Bundesliga receives 4.6 billion for a period of four years. Even smaller clubs like Bournemouth, managed to invest 90 million euros in their team this season, three times more than some teams from top 5 in the Bundesliga.
Claudio Ranieri celebrating Premier League victory with Leicester City. Photo Credits : Zapsports
Most players prefer a Champions League medal. This is because it’s more competitive and ranks highest in European club competitions. Players like Buffon have been struggling to win the trophy, even though he has a good number of league trophies. Most managers prefer a league trophy since it appeals more to the fan base. Most legendary managers have been rated by the league titles won. Former Leicester City man Claudio Ranieri is idolized more in England than Roberto Di Matteo. The former won an EPL trophy with Leicester while the latter won a Champions League trophy with Chelsea.
The best 11 players who never won the UEFA Champions League
Many greats in the most popular sport have won the Champions League, but there are also legends who never enjoyed the European Cup. There are top-class footballers, but unfortunately they never enjoyed the ‘cup with ears’. “Sky Sports” made a “dream team” of football players who do not have the trophy in the elite European club competition in their collection.
In goal, the best, but also the worst goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, who lost his third career final. Before him, three “giants”, Lilian Thuram, Lothar Matheus and Fabio Cannavaro. The midfield also consists of three great masters. Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira and his former Arsenal teammate Cesc Fabregas, who now plays for Chelsea. They are accompanied by another former football player who played in the Premier League, Michael Ballack. The offensive line could not have been better. Francesco Totti, Dennis Bergkamp, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and “il phenomeno” Ronaldo complete the squad.
Verdict
As for my take on Champions League vs Premier League, here is my opinion. The champions league pays better per match. It also seems to have the upper hand over the EPL in many aspects. However, the English Premier League remains a fan favorite around the world: today Liverpool is on top of the table, tomorrow they are fourth, all in a span of a week or two. Don’t you love this? In this debate, the Champions League will always come second.
The Champions League has teams from all continents with many different and higher quality teams that compete against one another. This makes the matches much more exciting with many top players playing against one another. In fact, some might even consider the Champions League to be on the same level of prestige as the World Cup!
The English FA cup is finally back. The lower tier clubs are done with the lower knockout stages. The round of 32 is active with all the premier league clubs in the competition. Last season, Arsenal convincingly won the competition after beating Chelsea in the finals. This achievement cemented their position at the top of the England FA cup leaderboard. They have won 14 of the cups. Manchester United are the closest rivals with 12 FA cups. With most clubs eyeing the coveted trophy, the competition is stiffer this season.
Emile Smithe Rowe celebrating his winning goal vs Newcastle. Arsenal won 2:0. Photo credits : Arsenal
Bigwigs Who Have Qualified
Despite the competition being open to every English club, only a few get mentioned as the favorites. In England, 6 top clubs are always at the forefront of every competition. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool are the routine top 6 clubs. These are the top six favorites to clinch the trophy. This is due to their experience in the competition and general quality as clubs. Arsenal has qualified for the next round by beating Newcastle 2 goals to nil. Liverpool is also in the next round having put 4 past Aston Villa.
Scot McTominay celebrating his early goal vs Watford in the FA round 32. Manchester United won 1:0. Photo Credit : Manchester United
Moreover, Manchester United are also through to the next round. They won 1:0 vs Watford, thanks to a Scott McTominay early goal. Chelsea take on Morecambe while Tottenham face Marine FC. Manchester City will be visited by Birmingham City.
Furthermore, the competition is tougher this season given the quality of other clubs. The likes of Everton, Southampton, Wolves, Leicester City and West Ham are capable of challenging for the trophy. The clubs have decent squads that have impressed in the EPL this season. This is a big reason to worry for the big boys. More effort will be needed to dispatch off these clubs. The big boys must put their best feet forward if at all they want to win the trophy. Otherwise, they might be in for a rude shock from the impressive mid table clubs.
Todd Cantwell wrestling for the ball vs Coventry player in the FA Cup. Photo Credit : Norwich
Mesut Ozil is set to leave Arsenal, marking an end to what has been a turbulent relationship with the North London club. Ozil is in talks with Fenerbahce to join the Turkish giants on loan from Arsenal. The German playmaker’s Arsenal contract ends this summer.
Arsenal Midfielder Mesut Ozil. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
The Gunners manager, Mikel Arteta, spoke on the future of Mesut Ozil earlier this week.
I’m saying we will decide what’s happening in the next few days. I don’t know what is going to happen. Obviously, now he’s free to negotiate with other clubs. We will discuss internally what the best solution for him is for the near future, obviously with the player and agent too, and try to find the best solution for everyone.
Mikel Arteta
During his seven-and-a-half career at Arsenal, Ozil has made 254 appearances, finding the back of the net on 44 occasions and providing 77 assists for his team-mates and has three FA Cup winners’ medals to show for his efforts.
Mesut Ozil lifting the FA Cup in his first season at Arsenal. Image Credits: Getty Images
Mesut Ozil is set to leave Arsenal. Did his omission from Arsenal’s premier league squad factor in this decision?
Along with Sokratis, Mesut Ozil was left out of Arsenal’s 25-man premier league squad earlier in the season. This could be one of the reasons why Mesut Ozil is set to leave Arsenal. The pair also did not make the squad list for the Europa League group stages. Ozil’s last game for Arsenal was on 7th March 2020 against West Ham United in the Premier League.
Mesut Ozil’s transfer could be a good thing for all three parties involved. Arsenal gets to trim their squad and wage bill by getting rid of players who no longer feature in their long-term plans. Fenerbahce adds to their squad a proven playmaker and a World Cup winner who, on paper, makes a vast improvement to their team. Mesut Ozil gets to play the sport he loves again in a country that he loves.
