Brief Prediction on This Year’s Eventual Champions League Winner
The UEFA Champions League is back in action today, with Bayer Leverkusen hosting Atletico Madrid and Manchester City hosting Monaco. Both matches begin at 2:45 ET, so I wanted to get this official prediction in before the action starts: Monaco are going to win the 2017 Champions League.
That may seem like too bold of a take for many, but let’s take a closer look at this French side.
Monaco currently leads Ligue 1 by three points over Paris Saint-Germain and Nice, two very talented clubs, the former of whom showed just how talented they are with a 4–0 smackdown of Barcelona in their own Champions League match last week. (For the record, I don’t think Barca are 100 percent dead just yet.)
Monaco have a mind-melting +52 goal differential this campaign. That’s by far the best in Ligue 1, and is, in fact, the best goal differential (by eight goals) of any team in any of the five major European leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A). Their 76 goals are also, by far, the most in Europe (Barca with 63 are in second), and Monaco are simply running roughshod over defenses this campaign.
Radamel Falcao (yes, that Falcao, Manchester United fans) is leading the charge for Monaco, with 16 goals in the domestic league and 22 goals overall. Monaco have much more than just Falcao, though. The club fields eight players with at least four domestic goals, and six of those players have at least six goals. Thomas Lemas is the most fun of the bunch, a 5’ 7” midfielder who has seven goals and six assists in Ligue 1 in 2016–17. He also has a pair of Champions League goals, and oh by the way, he’s only 21 years old.
Monaco is not afraid to press forward full throttle, and their coach Leonardo Jardim has said this style won’t change no matter which team they face in the Champions League. That same style has led Monaco and Jardim to great heights in Ligue 1 this campaign, and they are right not to change in Champions League.
There are still plenty of big names teams likely to advance to the round of eight (both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid took care of business last week), but do not be surprised one bit if Monaco end up being the ones to lift the Champions League Trophy come June 3.
