After talking
about the Premier League for a while, it’s time to cross over from England to
the rest of Europe, where we’ll be taking a look at the events that unfolded in
the best competition on the continent, the UEFA Champions League. Ever since
the competition went from group stages to a league phase, things have been very
chaotic. 36 teams, of which 8 go directly to the Round of 16, while those from
9th to 24th have to play in the play-offs to see who
advances and who goes out. 25th to 36th go home, lmao. On
one hand, it’s a bit easier to not write a whole lot about the games,
statistics, chances of advancing, etc., but on the other, waiting to write a
report at the end of the first month of the New Year is very painful. Which is
why, starting from the next season, the regular bi-weekly reports on the
competition will return.
Something that I
do want to get off my chest firstly is to say that 2026 has had quite a wild
start. Politics ruining shit for everyone, destroying any possibilities of
having peace for even 5 minutes, people wanting to go at each other. Sadly,
these things even invade the Beautiful Game, where we gather to watch a sport
to calm our minds from the depressing state that is life. Secondly, I was
extremely lazy to even begin writing this report. I’m not in the holiday mood,
although the festivities were amazing. I was just lazy to write anything. Even
a game review that I’m working on, it’s collecting dust at the moment. But
worry not. Next month is where I pull up my big boy pants and get to work.
On 27.01.2026, in which it was supposed to be a trip
to France to support PAOK play against Lyon in the Europa League, 7 fans
tragically lost their lives in Romania, after their minibus crashed into an
oncoming truck. One of the survivors say that malfunctions within the minibus
were the cause for the incident. Rest In Peace, Δικέφαλοι Αετοί (Dikéfaloi
Aetoí).
Before we do start the quick report, quick ground rules. The report will be divided into 3 sections:
- The Losers
- The Undecided
- The Winners
With that being
said, HERE WE GO!!!
