Champions League Group G Rundown
Group G: Leicester City, FC Porto, Club Brugge KV,
Leicester City are the team from pot one selected into group g. Leicester play in the English Premier League where they sit in twelfth place with seven points from six games. Leicester has struggled in the early stages of the season after wining the Premier League title last season. Despite losing key player N’Golo Kanté, Leicester has retained the core group that won them the title last year. Riyad Mahrez, Wes Morgan, and Jamie Vardy are the star names on the squad. This is Leicester’s debut season in the Champions League, having very little European football experience. Leicester won the Premier League title last season after having little odds to accomplish that feat. They surprised the whole sports nation and will look to further cement their place in history with a good performance in their first year competing in the Champions League.
FC Porto is the second team picked into group g. Porto compete in Portugal’s top league called the Primeira Liga. They sit in third place with thirteen points from six games including a loss to another Portuguese team in the Champions League, Sporting CP. Legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas looks to lead Porto to the title and add another trophy to his expansive collection. Porto are frequently featured in the Champions League with this season being their twenty-second year in the tournament. Porto have won the tournament once before, back in 2003–2004, with historical manager José Mourinho. Last year, Porto finished third in their group and were put into the Europa League. In the Europa League, Porto failed to win a game and fell to Borussia Dortmund in the round of thirty-two.
Club Brugge KV are the next team selected into group g. Club Brugge compete in the Ereste Klasse A located in Belgium. They sit in seventh position with thirteen points from eight matches. Leading goal scorers José Izquierdo and Jelle Vossen hope to score even more goals in the Champions League. Club Brugge will be competing in their tenth Champions League. Since their first year of Champions League football in 1992–1993, Club Brugge have competed in European tournaments in every year except 1993–1994. Despite being in European competition frequently, Brugge have not made it further than the group stage of the Champions League. In last year’s tournament, Club Brugge were trounced by Manchester United in the play-off round and were put into the Europa League. In the Europa League, Brugge failed to advance out of their group finishing third.
FC København are the final team put into group g. København play in Denmark in the Superliga. In the Superliga, Koøbenhavn have yet to lose a game gaining twenty-five points from eleven games. Ståle Solbakken, who hopes to translate their current league success into Champions League success, manages this mainly Scandinavian squad. This will be København’s thirteenth year competing in the Champions League with their best finish coming in 2010–2011 when they made it to the round of sixteen. Last year København competed in the Europa League qualifying rounds. They won their first match against Newtown but lost the following game to Jablonec on away goals.
Because of their minimal European football experience, Leicester City have not played against any team in their group previously. Porto have played two previous games against Club Brugge in the Europa League. The two teams played in the second qualifying round of the 1972–1973 tournament. Both teams have a win and loss after the two meetings. Club Brugge and København have played five matches against each other. They have played two games in the Champions League and three in the Europa League. In the Champions League, the two teams played in the third qualifying round where København reached the next stage with a win and a draw. In their three games in the Europa League, Brugge have won a game, tied a game, and loss a game. This group is wide open and all teams are in tight contention for the top two spots. Although Leicester does not have history in the tournament, they have their current strong form while the other teams have decades of experience in European football. The games should be close and it will be exciting to see which teams will make it through to the knockout stages.
