By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The balance sheet for German football might, at first glance, paint a satisfying picture after the group stage of the 2019/2020 Champions League campaign.
Three clubs (Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund) pushed through to the last-16-round. Only Bayer Leverkusen failed to move on and continues its international journey in the Euro League, which is no surprise considering the clubs' group opponents Juventus and Atletico.
Leipzig and Bayern won their group with the Bavarians setting a new record, winning all of the six group games. Dortmund delivered a convincing performance when under pressure in the decisive match against Prague having to count on the "help" of Barcelona beating their rival Inter.
Can fans now expect a campaign shaped or dominated by German clubs?
A conclusion like that appears hasty at present.
To speak of a comeback of German club football on the international stage doesn't correspond with the facts. German clubs are still ahead of a crucial stress-test when the knock-out duels, drawn this Monday, are to be played in February and March 2020.
To take a look at last year's results might be enough to cool down enthusiasm and set a warning shot. The group stage was only a warm-up for Europe's giants. From now on, the Champions League is turning into a serious issue.
Bayern, Dortmund, and Schalke proceeded to the knock-out stage in 2018/2019 but failed in their attempt to kick out Premier League clubs.
Things haven't changed significantly one year later. The Bundesliga still needs to catch up when it comes to the Spanish La Liga and the English Premier League. All four participants of both leagues qualified for the last-16-round.
Unforgotten: Bayern's humiliating 3-1 defeat against FC Liverpool; Schalke's devastating 10-2 goal record against Manchester City and Dortmund's 4-0 (all in aggregate) crossing swords with Tottenham.
What is up this time? The same procedure as last year?
Real Madrid, Atletico or Chelsea for Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, Liverpool, Paris, Juve, or City for Dortmund and Leipzig?
When it comes to the battle for Europe's football crown, German clubs remain underdogs. Liverpool and City remain the favorites aside from Barcelona. Bayern might have reached the level of Juve, Real, Paris, but needs to gain further robustness to achieve more than the last-eight-round.
Only in 2018, Bayern managed to beat a Spanish team (FC Sevilla) since winning the cup six years ago.
Three German clubs in the knock-out stage, therefore, was nothing more than the minimum.
It has been a long time since Bayern and Dortmund played the "German final" at Wembley in 2013, with the Bavarian narrowly grabbing the victory (2-1).
Still, forecast can't be made regarding the outcome of this season's last-16-round. German clubs need to hope for a bearable draw or go beyond their limits to turn around things in European football.
