A Canadian record setting five Canucks represented their clubs in the group stage of the Champions League this year.
- Alphonso Davies, FC Bayern Munich
- Scott Arfield, Rangers FC
- Tajon Buchanan, Club Brugge KV
- Cyle Larin, Club Brugge
- Stephen Eustáquio, FC Porto
Unfortunately, Jonathan David’s club side LOSC Lille struggled in Ligue 1, finishing 10th and failing to secure a spot in the Champions League, the Europa League or the Conference League. A surprise after David boosted the club to become Ligue 1 champions in 2020-21. Topping the table by just 1 point over French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a similar story for Atiba Hutchinson, who plays for Turkish club side Beşiktaş. Much like Lille, Beşiktaş fell from top of the Turkish Süper Lig after being crowned champions in 2021, losing their Champions League ticket.
It was a scary draw for three Canadians, all landing as underdogs in a tactically diverse Group B. The group featured star-studded Spaniards Atlético Madrid, German side Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan’s Belgian Club Brugge and Stephen Eustáquio’s club FC Porto from Portugal.
When it was all said and done, the table favoured the Canadians, all of whom advanced to the knockout stage.
FC Porto – 4-0-2, 12 points. (+5)
Club Brugge – 3-2-1, 11 points. (+4)
Bayer Leverkusen – 1-2-3, 5 points. (-4)
Atlético Madrid – 1-2-3, 5 points. (-4)
Alphonso Davies also saw himself in a difficult group, with historic clubs Barcelona and Inter Milan joining his club Bayern and unfortunate Czech side FC Viktoria Plzeň.
Bayern saw no trouble, finishing atop at 6-0-0, a +16 goal differential and conceding just twice throughout the group stage.
Scott Arfield and FC Rangers had a different experience. Landing in Group A, which proved far too strong for the Scottish club. They were continually battered, finishing 0-0-6 with a -20 goal differential. Only managing to find the back of the net on two occasions, one of which came in their most competitive performance of the competition, a 3-1 loss to Ajax.
Round of 16 draw:
- Bayern Munich (Alphonso Davies) vs. Paris Saint-Germain
- AC Milan vs. Tottenham
- Club Brugge (Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan) vs. Benfica
- Dortmund vs. Chelsea
- Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli
- RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
- Inter Milan vs. FC Porto (Stephen Eustáquio)
As you can see each Canadian faces a difficult draw. Davies will be confronting a front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé from PSG. Where he’ll be tasked with stopping Messi down the right flank, always a tall order.
Larin and Buchanan, despite their club’s outstanding season, will now face a club with more momentum and more class. Benfica have been outstanding this year not only in the Portuguese Primeira Liga where they are undefeated in 13 matches with 1 draw, but in the Champions League where they have beaten Juventus twice, drawn twice to PSG (scoring in both contests) and remain undefeated through 6 matches.
FC Porto’s draw with Inter Milan is an interesting one, with Inter struggling to find their form of late. Currently 4th in Serie A (10-0-5), they scraped their way out of Group C of the Champions League ahead of a Europa League bound Barcelona, who have struggled internationally in recent years but are dominating the La Liga table at 12-1-1. Though Porto are likely to be underdogs going into the first leg, they have already beaten the likes of Atletico Madrid, who have experienced comparable success this year.