The Daily Bee (August 21, 2020): Fixture Times Released

Good morning, Fear The Wall!

First Fixtures

Borussia Dortmund released the dates and times for their first set of 2020-21 fixtures this morning across their social media pages.

It’s always nice to see times for the first set of our Bundesliga fixtures. Several of our early matches feature late afternoon/early evening start times, making these games feel that much more important. Getting our some of our toughest competition at home early in the Hinrunde puts Dortmund in a position to jump out to a good position for a Bundesliga title run.

However, despite how well Germany has done in containing and managing COVID in their country, take these times with a grain of salt. All it takes is a few positive tests and a match could be postponed or shifted around. So while these times may seem definite, keep in mind that things can change from now until the season actually starts.

Europa League Final Action!

In the UEFA NIT Championship Europa League Final, Inter Milan and Sevilla square off in the RheinEnergyStadion in Cologne. Inter, who finished behind Dortmund in their Champions League group, won comfortably over Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria 4-1 on aggregate before COVID hit, and since the return of European football squeaked by against Getafe (2-0) and Bayer Leverkusen (2-1) before absolutely pummeling Shaktar Donetsk 5-0 in the semi-final. In what should only be described as a successful first season with the club, Romelu Lukaku is a hat-trick shy of winning the Europa League Golden Boot despite only playing in the Knockout Stages. Meanwhile, Lautaro Martinez, who tore BVB a new one in both group stage matches, is another incredibly dangerous player for Inter that seems to be scoring goals for fun.

Meanwhile, Sevilla qualified for the Knockout Stages by finishing a clear first-place in their group of APOEL, Qarabağ and F91 Dudelange before just barely eking out a 1-1 aggregate win over Romanian side CFR Cluj thanks to an away goal in the first leg. Since the restart, Sevilla have posted close wins over Roma (2-0), Wolverhampton (1-0) and Manchester United (2-1... lol). Munir leads the team with five goals during their Europa campaign while a tight defense looks to slow down an Inter team that can bang in goals like crazy.

I Nerazzurri are looking for their first piece of European silverware since their 2009-10 Champions League victory and their first Europa League/UEFA Cup trophy since 1997-98, where they comfortably won 3-0 over Lazio in an all-Italy final. For Los Palanganas, they are aiming to add to their trophy cabinet with a sixth Europa League trophy, adding to their record mark in the competition.

The Daily Buzz

Who do you think is lifting the trophy in Cologne?