Yahoo Sports Rafa Benitez sees ‘incredible outcome’ for Serie A clubs in Champions
Former Inter and Napoli coach Rafa Benitez believes Serie A could accomplish an ‘incredible’ feat with four clubs qualified for the Champions League Round of 16.
Champions League Round 6 is in the history books and saw some positive results from Serie A clubs.
Despite Inter and Atalanta’s latest losses, hopes to qualify for the Round of 16 are very much alive for both Nerazzurri sides, while Juventus and Milan approached the top eight.
The last two games of the league phase will be played in January 2025. The top eight clubs will get direct access to the Round of 16, while clubs ranked from 9th to 24th will go through the knockout play-off round. Betting VulkanSpiele provides some of the best odds for the Champions League season, and Benitez believes Inter will surely end up in the top eight.
“Inter are solid, they were slightly below par against Leverkusen, but they conceded a goal when it seemed the game would finish 0-0,” the ex-Nerazzurri coach told Gazzetta.
“Inzaghi’s men are too strong to think they won’t qualify for the Round of 16.”
Atalanta, Juventus and Milan, on the other hand, are just below the top eight but have a fair chance to qualify straight for the Round of 16.
Rafa Benitez sees ‘incredible outcome’ for Serie A clubs in Champions
“There could be an incredible outcome, even if it won’t be easy,” Benitez admitted.
“Milan have won four games in a row and cancelled a negative start with defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.
“Liverpool and Barcelona have one foot in the next round, but caution is needed with this formula. Many things may be different in the next round, played on January 21 and 22. Slot and Flick have taken advantage as they have technically rich squads.”
Is Dusan Vlahovic among the best players of the latest round?
“Yes, because he accelerated the Juventus metamorphosis against Manchester City. Juventus could have been in a tricky situation without a victory, let alone with a defeat,” said Benitez.
“However, I would also add Leao, Ferran Torres for his brace for Barcelona in Dortmund, but also Mbappé and Bellingham’s magic against Atalanta.”
Juventus’ win over Manchester City was probably among the most surprising results of Round 6, while Atalanta-Real Madrid was one of the most entertaining.
“I don’t know what’s going on at Manchester City; they play with low intensity and can’t find solutions that were easy in the past. The pitch says something has changed,” Benitez argued.
“Atalanta-Real Madrid was a spectacular game, alive until the very second. The Real Madrid giants, Mbappé, Vinicus Jr. and Bellingham, decided it in one-on-one duels, but it was a great football show, one emotion after the other.”
