AC Milan will play the second game of their 2024-25 Champions League campaign on Tuesday night, and they face a Bayer Leverkusen side who were arguably the biggest story in European football last season.
The list of accolades for Xabi Alonso’s side last season is remarkable as they won the Bundesliga by going unbeaten (with only six draws), won the DFB-Pokal, reached the Europa League final where they lost to Atalanta in Dublin and scored 144 goals across all competitions. In short, this will be a big test of Milan’s defensive resolve.
It is the battle between the Serie A top scorers and a side who have 14 goals in five Bundesliga goals, so it feels right to focus more on the attacking duels. Florian Wirtz has been directly involved in 24 goals in his last 26 starts for Bayer Leverkusen in European competition (12 goals, 12 assists) and he is their main threat.
It feels like this could be Youssouf Fofana‘s biggest task so far since arriving at the club, given that he should operate as a shield in front of the right side of the back four and thus will be tasked with limiting Wirtz’s influence. Emerson Royal and Christian Pulisic will have to do their bit too.
Speaking of Christian Pulisic, he has netted in each of his last two Champions League appearances for Milan (two goals), while he could become the first player from the USA to score in three consecutive appearances in the competition. He has five goals and two assists in seven games this season already and has been the danger man.
