{"id":587164,"date":"2021-03-19T09:52:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=587164"},"modified":"2021-03-19T09:52:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T13:52:10","slug":"the-champions-league-draw-narratives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/03\/19\/the-champions-league-draw-narratives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Champions League Draw Has Formed the Most Interesting Narratives Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When it gets to this stage of the season, you can always rely on the Champions League draw to create some much-needed excitement. And this year is no different. Several narratives have already been formed thanks to the several ties- creating an action-packed April.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It is the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to European football. Underdogs are beginning to believe. Dominant sides are looking to make their mark and, potential first-time winners are seeking glory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With the last eight drawn and route to the final decided, the Champions League is set to create several talking points once more.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Champions League Draw Forms Several Intriguing Narratives<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Jadon Sancho Out to Prove a Point After the Champions League Draw<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Since swapping the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/12\/leipzig-sign-defender-angelino-man-city\/\" target=\"_self\">Manchester City<\/a> academy for first-team action at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/09\/blame-borussia-dortmund-and-rb-leipzig-for-bayern-munich-bundesliga-dominance\/\" target=\"_self\">Borussia Dortmund<\/a> in 2017, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/dbf053da\/Jadon-Sancho\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jadon Sancho<\/a> has thrived. And now, four years later, he&#8217;ll be out to prove a point as the Bundesliga club head to the Etihad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sancho, of course, has already proved many doubters wrong since leaving England, but it would be the icing on the cake if he were to score past <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/3bb7b8b4\/Ederson\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ederson<\/a> in the City goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For his teammate, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/1f44ac21\/Erling-Haaland\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erling Haaland,<\/a> it could well be his opportunity to put on a show against what could be his next club. With <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/28\/manchester-city-evolved-without-sergio-aguero\/\" target=\"_self\">Aguero ageing<\/a> and Haaland shining in Germany, one would expect the forward to be linked with the club in the coming years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">And what better way to introduce yourself to the Manchester City squad than by bulldozing your way through them?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Chance for Liverpool Revenge Against Real Madrid<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Revenge can come in the strangest of ways and at the most unexpected of times, but when it does arrive, it is always sweet. And the Champions League draw has created a narrative surrounded by potential revenge with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/01\/liverpool-complete-kabak-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">Liverpool<\/a> up against <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/09\/raphael-varanes-future\/\" target=\"_self\">Real Madrid.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The last time these two sides met, of course, was the final in 2016 when an injury to Mohamed Salah soon led to a Gareth Bale overhead kick to win the trophy for Madrid. Since then, Liverpool have gone on to win the Champions League themselves as well as their first-ever <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/19\/arsenal-talent-bukayo-saka-continues-to-impress\/\" target=\"_self\">Premier League<\/a> title.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Four years on from being dragged down and out of the final, Salah has a chance to finally make his mark on Real Madrid. It will be a spectacle worth seeing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Should Liverpool go through against Madrid and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/27\/thomas-tuchel-will-succeed-at-chelsea\/\" target=\"_self\">Chelsea<\/a> advance against Porto, the two Premier League sides will meet in the final four with a place in Istanbul up for grabs- creating an extraordinary throwback to 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Pep Guardiola Could Face Former Side<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With the winner of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/14\/bayern-munich-confirm-dayot-upamecano-signing\/\" target=\"_self\">Bayern Munich<\/a> v <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/03\/16\/juan-bernat-extension-paris-saint-germain\/\" target=\"_self\">Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> set to face the winner of Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund, there is a large possibility that Pep Guardiola will come up against his former side.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It would form some narrative, too. A story that centres around the quote, &#8216;to be the man, you&#8217;ve got to beat the man&#8217; as City face the possibility of overcoming the Champions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On the flip side of that, we could see a repeat of the 2020 Round of 16. We could see a replay of that fiery affair. We could see the showdown of all showdowns between <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/18\/mbappe-haaland-heir-footballing-throne\/\" target=\"_self\">Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The fact is, everywhere you look, a narrative is forming after the highly-anticipated Champions League draw.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"C_g_h9wxRzRr0OUiKk1P_Q\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1231286140\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'C_g_h9wxRzRr0OUiKk1P_Q',sig:'uwgWqf2qag5RuRDfZxdsgrucFg2WtX9bgOP4_YyNuQg=',w:'594px',h:'369px',items:'1231286140',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it gets to this stage of the season, you can always rely on the Champions League draw to create some much-needed excitement. And this year is no different. Several narratives have already been formed thanks to the several ties- creating an action-packed April. It is the most wonderful time of the year when it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3402,"featured_media":587168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[378,1364,8383,11,2,16,17,1367,1366],"tags":[1393,1118,961],"class_list":["post-587164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-champions-league","category-bayern-munich","category-borussia-dortmund","category-chelsea","category-featured","category-liverpool","category-manchester-city","category-paris-saint-germain","category-real-madrid","tag-erling-haaland","tag-fc-porto","tag-kylian-mbappe"],"modified_by":"Tom Cunningham, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}