Manchester City start the new league phase of the Champions League with a rematch of the 2023 final against Inter Milan. On the pitch, the club is doing excellently, off the pitch, trouble looms.
Manchester City have made a great start to the season with four wins from four games in the Premier League and winning the English Super Cup. Manuel Akanji's team can extend their winning streak on Wednesday evening against Inter Milan, who lost 1-0 in the 2023 Champions League final. But the mood is subdued.
Akanji's worries
On the one hand, the players are complaining about the even more packed calendar due to the Champions League reform. With the exception of the international phases, there are now two games a week on the schedule for months on end. Akanji did not hold back with his criticism either. "Everything is getting bigger, there are more and more games, we don't have a winter break and then there's the Club World Cup at the end of the season. I don't know how it's going to work in the next few years. When do we have a vacation? If we're lucky, we'll get two weeks off," said the 29-year-old international defender, adding: "Maybe I'll stop when I'm 30."
Then there is the "football trial of the century" that is being talked about in England. The indictment against the club of main shareholder Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan comprises no fewer than 115 points. The accusation: serious financial trickery and insufficient cooperation with the investigating authorities over the period between 2009 and 2023.
The proceedings were opened on Monday in a secret location and in camera. If convicted, Manchester City could face points deductions and, in the worst case, forced relegation. However, the club is confident of victory and announced "extensive irrefutable evidence".
BVB in Bruges, Bologna against Donetsk
In addition to Manchester City and Inter, Borussia Dortmund (at FC Brugge), Paris Saint-Germain (against Girona) and FC Bologna with the Swiss Remo Freuler, Michel Aebischer and Dan Ndoye (against Shakhtar Donetsk) will also start the league phase of the Champions League on Wednesday.
