Alan Shearer has named the team he believes are the favourites to win this season’s Champions League ahead of the round of 16 ties. It was revealed on Friday what each team will have to do in order to reach the final, with Liverpool and Aston Villa potentially set to meet each other in the quarter-finals should they overcome Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge, respectively.
Manchester City’s hopes of reclaiming the crown were well and truly dashed, however, as Pep Guardiola’s men were sent home following a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick for Real Madrid. With the remaining 16 teams all confirmed, Shearer has given his say on who he believes will reign supreme.
Shearer Names Real Madrid as Favourites for 2024/25 Champions League
Reviewing City’s elimination on the latest edition of the Rest is Football podcast, Shearer revealed that it is indeed the team who knocked out the Premier League champions that are his new favourites, explaining why he believed Los Blancos were the frontrunners despite a slow start to the tournament.
“They’re looking very dangerous. Two performances against City, both home and away, which will send a huge warning out to the rest of Europe in terms of teams that are left in. They know it’s their competition, they know how well they do and they excel in it and they have to win it. I would put them favourites, absolutely. Definitely.”
Despite being crowned European champions last season thanks to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund, Madrid made a poor start to their title defence, suffering defeats to LOSC Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool in the league phase. However, their two-legged win over City could reinstate their credentials.
Shearer Names the One Dark Horse That Could Stop Madrid
In terms of who could pose a threat to Madrid, Shearer claims that French giants Paris Saint-Germain could be a dark horse to lift their first-ever Champions League. The Parisians lost Mbappe to Madrid in the summer, which followed the departures of other superstars such as Lionel Messi and Neymar, which has really impacted the club off the field.
On it, though, they still look strong, as evidenced by their 7-0 win over fellow Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois in the second leg of their clash, and Shearer is impressed by what he has seen.
“Over two legs I think they will give anyone a good game,” the ex-Blackburn man claimed. “They’re more of a team now than they have been. Whether they’re good enough this season to go and win it, I’m not sure, but they’ll be a real test for anyone left in the competition.”
