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Spanish journalist Julio Maldonado believes Manchester City are the favorites to win this season's UEFA Champions League ahead of Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Both PSG and City boast incredibly talented teams and are in search of their first-ever Champions League title. The two cash-rich clubs have each made it to the finals once, but lost to Bayern Munich in 2020 and Chelsea in 2021 respectively.
Maldonado believes City, who added Erling Haaland to their squad this summer, are firm favorites to break their Champions League jinx. However, he also stated that the Parisians' attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Kylian Mbappe form the best frontline in the world right now.
The journalist, who has worked for popular Spanish media agencies such as COPE and Movistar, tweeted (as translated by PSG Talk):
“There is no better attack in the world than PSG at the level that Messi, Neymar and Mbappe are at. But [Christophe] Galtier has not yet solved the problems behind. They come easy to him and he defends only regulating the stopped ball.
“If that improves, a great favorite for the Champions together with Manchester City.”
Both the Parisians and Manchester City have secured their places in the knockout rounds of this season's Champions League with a game to spare.
Christophe Galtier's side currently lead Group H with 11 points from five matches, level with SL Benfica. The Cityzens also have the same number of points from as many matches, but have already won Group G. They are three points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Domestically, the French giants lead Ligue 1 with 35 points from 13 matches and are yet to taste defeat across all competitions. City, meanwhile, are second in the Premier League with 29 points from 12 games, two behind leaders Arsenal.
Lionel Messi has starred for PSG while Erling Haaland has been dominant for Manchester City this season
PSG and Manchester City have undeniably enjoyed dominant starts to the 2022-23 season. A primary reason for this has been the incredible form of their star forwards.
Lionel Messi has been irrepressible for the Parisians, taking over the team while helping Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe thrive as well.
In 17 matches across all competitions, he has already racked up 12 goals and 13 assists. Messi notably registered only 11 goals and 15 assists in the whole of last season.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has settled in admirably at Manchester City and looks on track to break several records. The Norwegian has recorded 22 goals and three assists in just 16 matches across competitions and doesn't seem to be showing signs of stopping any time soon.
