Man Utd quartet, Real Madrid new boys in Champions League XI of stars set to wear debut patch
Four Manchester United players will make their Champions League debuts while Real Madrid’s £137million new boys are completely new to European football…
This season, UEFA will follow the grubby lead of FIFA by introducing a ‘debut patch’ for players making their first appearance in the Champions League.
The World Cup featured the same gimmick, where debutants wore a similar patch which was then retrieved immediately after the game and handed over to Topps for the FIFA partner to integrate into a trading card.
At the World Cup, many of the patches were placed incorrectly on the sleeve which led to some detaching mid-game.
In the Champions League, a debut patch will be added within the star ball on the sleeve.
And here’s an XI of players set to sport one…
GK: Zion Suzuki
Senne Lammens’ single Champions League appearance for Royal Antwerp in 2023 sees Suzuki get the nod, with the new Aston Villa goalkeeper a newbie to European competition of any sort.
Villa will need Suzuki to hit the ground running given the difficulty of their draw.
RB: Leny Yoro
Yoro is doing a job at right-back here, which we’re comfortable with since that’s where the Manchester United defender has played his only minutes so far this season.
Yoro has played in the Europa League for United – his last European game was THAT final against Spurs – and the Conference League with Lille.
CB: Jeremy Jacquet
The new Liverpool defender will see European football with fresh eyes when the Reds face Atletico Madrid in their Champions League opener since Jacquet never featured in continental competition while at Rennes.
CB: Maxime Esteve
The French centre-back made the switch this summer from the Championship to the Champions League when RB Leipzig paid Burnley £27.3million to sign one of the few Clarets to emerge from last season with their reputation enhanced.
Esteve is another newbie on the European scene having joined Burnley from boyhood club Montpellier.
LB: Patrick Dorgu
The Manchester United wideman has played in a Europa League final at left wing-back, but never yet has he featured on the Champions League stage.
Given United’s refusal to buy a left-back in the summer, this might the position which gives Dorgu the best chance of meaningful minutes.
CM: Carlos Baleba
The £70million summer recruit played six times for Brighton in the Europa League, but Baleba will probably have to wait a little while longer to wear the debutant patch since an ankle injury is set to rule him out of United’s opener against Sabah.
The defensive midfielder will be of more use in their next game: away at Atletico Madrid on October 13.
CM: Manu Kone
Had Chelsea got hold of Kone on deadline day, the France midfielder would be waiting even longer for his Champions League debut.
But because Gian Piero Gasperini put his foot down, Kone will be a prominent feature in Roma’s first Champions League campaign since 2018/19.
LW: Victor Munoz
None of Munoz’s four appearances for 15-times winners Real Madrid came in the Champions League and Osasuna were nowhere near European football last season.
The World Cup winner with Spain will come up against familiar faces when Liverpool open against Atletico Madrid.
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RW: Yan Diomande
The winger hadn’t made 50 senior appearances, let alone played in Europe, when Real Madrid agreed to pay up to £115.7million this summer.
He won’t be the only Real newbie on the Champions League stage…
CF: Carlos Espi
Diomande was Real’s most-expensive purchase but Espi might be the most intriguing given his signing came completely out of the blue at the end of July just after his 21st birthday.
The 6’4″ centre-forward was plucked from Levante and, despite the usual lack of hype around Real recruits, Espi has made a very positive start, scoring the winner off the bench on his La Liga debut. His Champions League bow could come in Real’s opener at home against Inter Milan.
CF: Bryan Mbeumo
The Manchester United striker is completely new to the European stage.
He never played in continental competition with Troyes or Brentford and he joined United just in time for their first season outside of Europe since 2014.
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