Carlo Ancelotti has picked his four favourites to win the Champions League, overlooking Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners maintained their perfect start to the Champions League campaign on Tuesday night with a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Bukayo Saka’s penalty and a Mikel Merino brace earned Arsenal a tenth successive win in all competitions and an eighth clean sheet in a row.
Mikel Arteta’s side are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League and look well placed to enjoy a deep run in Europe following their semi-final defeat to eventual winners PSG last season.
But five-time Champions League winner Ancelotti does not rate Arsenal as one of the favourites to win the tournament.
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Instead, the Brazil manager has named PSG, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and his former club Real Madrid as the four favourites in the Champions League.
Bayern are the only club other than Arsenal with a perfect record after four games, with Vincent Kompany’s side beating PSG 2-1 last time out.
PSG dazzled on their way to a first Champions League title last season but have dropped more points in Ligue 1 than expected and were unable to come from behind against ten-man Bayern.
Man City, currently second in the Premier League, have seven points from three games ahead of their clash with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side are just behind Real Madrid in the Champions League table – Los Blancos won their first three games before losing to Liverpool at Anfield.
‘Seen from the other side of the world, the Champions League has the usual favourites,’ Ancelotti told Tuttosport. ‘Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.
‘In these first few matchdays, we’ve seen matches with high goals, and such sensational results make us lose interest.
‘This first phase has been expanded to make it more interesting, yet it’s not turning out that way. We have to accept that.’
Other teams hoping to make an impact in the Champions League include last season’s runners-up Inter Milan, La Liga champions Barcelona and 2019 winners Liverpool.
Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool endured a dismal start to the season but ended a four-game losing run to beat Aston Villa at the weekend before Tuesday’s win over Real Madrid.
‘I’m very pleased,’ Arne Slot said after Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half goal earned Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Xabi Alonso’s side.
‘It’s been [some] tricky weeks for us, many away games, hardly any rest in between every single game.
‘Again, we only had two days in between this game but the same was there for Real Madrid.
‘It helps if you can play in front of these fans and you can play in front of Real Madrid because I think that brings the best out of my players and out of our fans.
‘A great performance against a team that only lost once all season. It could have been a bit more maybe.’
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