From the confrontation between Real Madrid and Milan at Chicago Stadium in America, July 31, 2024 (Getty)
European football fans will be on a date with heavy-caliber matches, today, Tuesday, on the night of the fourth round of the Champions League football competitions, as attention will be largely directed to Anfield and Santiago Bernabeu stadiums, in order to follow two major summits between four powerful European clubs.
In the first match, the Spanish club Real Madrid will try to overcome its difficult rival, Italian Milan, and set its sights on achieving the third victory in the Champions League this season after winning the first round over Stuttgart, Germany (3-1), losing the second round to Lille, France, and then winning the round. Third over Germany’s Borussia Dortmund (5-2), and therefore reaching nine points will be very important for the Royal Club in order to facilitate the process of qualifying for the second round of the competitions.
On the other hand, Italian Milan, which is suffering from major problems at the European level, needs to win by any means, as it has suffered two losses in exchange for one victory, and falling for the third time will greatly complicate the task of qualifying directly from the first eight qualifying places, and therefore Italian coach Paulo Fonseca will have the task of It is very difficult to kill two birds with one stone. The first is to defeat the European champion on home soil, and the second is to reach six points in the Champions League and advance in the standings.
As for the second awaited summit on the night of the Champions League, it will bring together Liverpool of England and Bayer Leverkusen of Germany at Anfield, and the two teams know very well the importance of gaining three new points, because for the Reds, a victory will raise their points to 12 points from four matches, and they will need three or more points. Only five points will guarantee qualification to the second round, while a win for Leverkusen will raise their points to ten points, and will greatly increase their chances of qualifying.
Liverpool has been performing at an exceptional level since the beginning of the season under the leadership of coach Arne Slott, as it tops the Premier League standings and occupies second place in the Champions League with nine points, on par with the leaders Aston Villa. On the other hand, Leverkusen, returning to the European Championship after an absence, is presenting an unsteady level. In all competitions, his Spanish coach, Xabi Alonso, seeks to achieve a victory that will give him more morale to improve the rest of the results. Liverpool and Leverkusen are considered among the clubs that are strong candidates to qualify for the second round (whether it is the round of 16 or the qualifying round of 32), and it will not be difficult for them to score more points in the remaining matches in the regular league and ensure passage without many complications.
