Here is the new Champions League: Juve against Psv, Milan-Liverpool is a classic. Tomorrow Inter and Bologna, Thursday it's Atalanta's turn THE PROGRAM

It was a sort of ordeal and now Juventus is preparing for the great return to the Champions League: “We are excited and can’t wait to hear that special little tune again” says Manuel Locatelli about the atmosphere at Continassa. 685 days after the last time, the Stadium will once again be hosting a Champions League night after Juve-Psg on November 2, 2022. In reality, it will be an afternoon, since the match against Psv Eindhoven is at 6:45 p.m., but the atmosphere is that of a big occasion: around 40,000 spectators are expected, and no one wants to miss out on this moment.
And for some it is truly very special: «My staff and I have worked so hard to be able to experience emotions like this, it is a great pride to begin this journey» explains Thiago Motta, someone who won the trophy twice as a player (with Barcelona in 2005/2006 and with Inter in 2009/2010), but who has yet to take his first steps as a coach. He will do so at the helm of Juve after having conquered it, on the pitch, with Bologna, now he wants to enjoy everything with the same mentality as always: «I read that they did a study on how many points are needed for direct qualification and they say 23, but I don’t care and I only think about one game at a time» the usual philosophy of the Italian-Brazilian. He was used to the group format, now there will be this «everyone against everyone» that stimulates him equally: «I really liked the previous formula, but the new one is also great and it will be important to start well by getting a result against an excellent team» says Thiago Motta on the eve of the match. The Dutch are fearsome, the only team to score in the ‘Eredevisie’ with 15 points in five games and 20 goals scored: «We’ve seen their videos and they’re strong, but we’ll try to keep control of the game and we have to think only about ourselves» Locatelli’s words on the first Champions League test. Also because we need to rediscover that offensive brilliance that, after the 6-0 overall against Como and Verona, was not seen again in the two 0-0 draws in a row between Roma and Empoli: «The draw in Tuscany was not the result we wanted, but it’s a closed chapter and we’re only thinking about starting well in the Champions League» the coach’s request to his boys. Vlahovic ended up behind the blackboard, the Serbian has remained dry in three out of four games in this start of the championship: «He must accept the criticism and move forward, aware that he has the right spirit and will return to scoring as he has always done – Thiago Motta’s message to the Juventus striker – and the team must also put him in the best conditions to be able to strike».
For PSV, captain Danilo could be seen again, his experience is also needed in a young team with many debutants in the Champions League: «He’s fine, everyone must continue to train with this determination» he says about the 1989-born player, used only in the final five minutes of the match against Verona. And then there is a lot of curiosity to see Koopmeiners on the international pitch with Juve: «It doesn’t seem like he hasn’t trained for a month, he’s fine and he made a great effort to be able to get here to us» concludes Thiago Motta.

Milan-Liverpool show in the evening

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was also at Milanello to watch the finishing touches before Liverpool and, to be mean, he did nothing to hide it. The Swede, in fact, sat on a bench on the edge of the pitch right in front of the wall of cameras that were filming the training, to officially declare his return after two (much talked about) weeks of absence. He had left after the embarrassing performance in Parma and missed the cooling break case against Lazio, now he is back after the large victory over Venezia that brought some serenity to the whole environment. To avoid sinking back into the swamp of doubts now we need to provide continuity, especially against a tough and important opponent like Liverpool. And Fonseca knows it well: “I see tomorrow’s match as an opportunity for the team to show that they are learning and growing – said the coach in the press conference -. It is a great opportunity to be able to play against Liverpool, it brings different things compared to what we have here in Serie A and gives the players the chance to show how they are growing”.
Morata also wants to show it, sitting next to the coach and not hiding the emotion of his European debut with the Milan shirt: “Since I signed I dreamed of playing matches like this. Milan-Liverpool could be a final and instead it’s the first match. We want to make our fans proud, we can’t wait to play. The Champions League is the Champions League, it’s different from everything. It’s true that we needed a win to get to this match, but in the Champions League it doesn’t matter how you get there. Tomorrow’s match is a big challenge for us, I don’t think it will tell the size of this team, it’s just the first European match. In any case we don’t have any more time to waste, especially in the league”. Which however must be put aside, even though the Rossoneri have the derby against Inter on Sunday evening. It’s too important to start the Champions League well, confirming the quality in attack and trying not to fall into the defensive errors that have characterized the first three matchdays. In the first half against Lazio and, although less reliable, against Venezia, something different was seen.
“The players know that the first thing I talk about is that the best defense is not losing the ball,” Fonseca explained. “I really believe that in the future this team can be very dominant. We are already doing something, but I want to be even more so. For me, defending well means not losing the ball, then when we don’t have the ball it’s important to have a team that defends well together, especially in these games.” The coach doesn’t want to hear about predictions (“Liverpool favourite? Words are words, what matters is what we do on the pitch. What we feel is that we can and want to win against Liverpool”), while Morata is fired up to experience one of those European nights that could leave their mark: “We have to believe in it, now we believe more that we can fight with everyone. Before we were a bit moody: if we conceded a goal, we went down, if we dominated we went stronger. We have to play with our ideas, the victory against Venezia is no coincidence, it depends on how we worked during the week. If we don’t believe in it, the people won’t believe it either. We are here to win, Milan must win. In the last few weeks there has been a change, we always want to win. We have to be aware that we are here to win and not to pass the time”.