The days of their fiercest rivalry are long gone, mostly because one of them took an eight-year break from competing in the Champions League. In the meantime, the other became the European champion four times. Their match history remembers the European Cup semi-finals in 1989 and several group-stage clashes during the first decade of the 21st century. And even though they haven’t met for 14 years, the duel between Real Madrid and AC Milan will always be a classic of European football.🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/VZamgWEojZ— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 5, 2024 Tables have significantly turned compared to the period from the beginning of the century. Back then, Real were longing for the UCL trophy, while the Rossoneri won two (2003 and 2007), both led by Carlo Ancelotti. However, since they got back on track in 2014 – fatefully or not, in Milan’s last season before the long absence – Los Blancos grabbed six Champions Leagues, whereas the San Siro crew can only dream of them.Carlo Ancelotti has managed some incredible players in his time at both AC Milan & Real Madrid 🤩🔥 pic.twitter.com/8B2kuzEoUj— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) November 5, 2024 Hence, tonight’s clash is, in prospect, a derby, but realistically speaking, it will be nowhere near one. Real have arguably the most powerful group of players in today’s football and, despite the devastating 4-0 defeat in El Classico, would be favourites against the issueless Milan, let alone this seriously troubled one.The biggest ‘loser’ in Real Madrid’s new orderNamely, the Rossoneri were easily defeated by Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the opening two UCL rounds, winning their first points two weeks ago by beating the Belgian Club Brugge. In Serie A, the Italian giants have been “blowing hot and cold” since the beginning of the season. Only five triumphs in the opening ten rounds put them in seventh position, far from where they wanted to be and had been predicted, as Milan were considered Scudetto contenders.On top of everything, Paulo Fonseca’s position is severely jeopardized, and each game is like a D-Day for him. At the same time, his frequent disciplinary measures towards several players like Rafael Leao, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori, for instance, have not increased his popularity in the locker room.Leao up for sale as early as January!Therefore, for all we know, Real should easily brush the Rossoneri aside. But hey, anything is possible in a classic. Perhaps, tonight, the spirit of Filippo Inzaghi will enter Alvaro Morata’s body, perhaps Leao will shine as Andriy Shevchenko used to, perhaps Christian Pulisic will wear Rui Costa’s boots, and Strahinja Pavlovic will resemble of Alessandro Nesta. If Fonseca’s men manage to erase all these “perhapses” and revive the spirit of past times, Milan will once more appear like a European giant and stand a chance.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 4Tuesday20:45: (1.77) PSV (3.80) Girona (4.50)20:45: (4.00) Slovan B. (3.60) Dinamo Zagreb (2.00)23:00: (2.80) Bologna (3.40) Monaco (2.65)23:00: (2.75) Celtic (3.45) RB Leipzig (2.50)23:00: (1.20) Dortmund (7.25) Sturm (12.0)23:00: (3.10) Lille (3.30) Juventus (2.50)23:00: (1.80) Liverpool (4.10) Leverkusen (4.40)23:00: (1.48) Real Madrid (5.00) Milan (6.70)23:00: (4.00) Sporting (3.60) Man.City (2.00)Wednesday20:45: (3.50) Club Brugge (3.45) Aston Villa (2.10)20:45: (2.05) Shakhtar (3.45) Young Boys (3.60)23:00: (1.35) Bayern (5.80) Benfica (9.00)23:00: (18.0) Crvena Zvezda (7.20) Barcelona (1.20)23:00: (1.60) Feyenoord (4.00) Salzburg (5.70)23:00: (2.65) Inter (3.35) Arsenal (2.85)23:00: (1.73) PSG (3.75) Atl.Madrid (4.80)23:00: (2.45) Sparta Praha (3.35) Brest (2.90)23:00: (2.45) Stuttgart (3.75) Atalanta (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
