The brand new Champions League format has not proved universally fashionable. The truth is, amongst followers at the least, the overwhelming consensus appears to be it is a horrible thought – a financially motivated transfer by UEFA; a again door to a European Tremendous League, even.
From this season, there isn’t a extra Champions League group stage. As a substitute, UEFA have adopted the ‘Swiss mannequin’, an ostensibly difficult first part of the competitors wherein all 36 groups (yep, 4 greater than earlier than) kind one huge league desk.
It’s going to take some getting used to, for certain – it is the most important shake-up to Europe’s high membership competitors for the reason that scrapping of the previous second group stage in 2003 – and never all change is nice. This one is, although…
WATCH | How The New Champions League Format Truly Works
Elevated jeopardy
Below the previous first-round format of eight teams of 4 groups, useless rubbers have been one thing of an inevitability. On the sixth and last matchday of the 2023/24 group stage, for instance, six of the eight teams noticed at the least one sport between two groups whose fates – whether or not development to the final 16, a drop into the Europa League knockout spherical play-offs or outright elimination – have been already determined, whereas numerous different fixtures featured one facet with successfully nothing to play for.
With the introduction of the brand new format, that should not occur – to not such a level, anyway. There are not any second probabilities within the Champions League: when you’re out of the competitors, that is it – no Europa League reprieve.
Granted, ‘rewarding’ third-place group finishers with a spot in UEFA’s second-tier competitors (or, in recent times, a spot within the play-offs for the final 16 of that competitors) stored issues attention-grabbing for longer – very like the play-offs do within the EFL, for instance – however one might argue that giving groups such a security web in a brief format (six video games) diluted the jeopardy that brings a lot pleasure and rigidity to match soccer. The brand new format – whereby the highest eight sides advance mechanically to the final 16, the following 16 go right into a play-off spherical and solely the remaining eight exit – ought to extend that all-important jeopardy.
One other plus of the rejigged Champions League format is that each group – even these seeded highest – is assured at the least two ‘exams’ within the first part of the competitors. Both sides has been drawn in opposition to two opponents from every of the 4 pots, with Pot 1 containing holders Actual Madrid, Manchester Metropolis, Bayern Munich, PSG, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Barcelona.
Thursday’s draw (which was performed by pc relatively than individuals (after UEFA discovered that it will take so long as 4 hours to do it the old school method) threw up some cracking fixtures for all groups concerned. Actual’s eight league part fixtures embrace clashes with Dortmund, who they beat in final season’s last, Liverpool, Milan and 2023/24 Europa League winners Atalanta; Metropolis will tackle Inter, PSG and Juventus; and Brest face Actual, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen on their European debut.
As a substitute of enjoying three opponents twice every (as soon as at residence and as soon as on the highway) each facet within the Champions League now contests eight first-round matches (4 residence, 4 away) in opposition to eight totally different groups, giving the early competitors one thing of an expanded World Cup (or, possibly extra appropriately given the area, Euros) really feel. Selection is the spice of life and all that.
For the larger good
The brand new Champions League format does not simply influence the UCL itself; it additionally has an impact on the Europa League and Convention League. And it looks as if a constructive impact.
With groups who do not attain the Champions League knockout stage not dropping into the Europa League, the winner of the latter must have been within the competitors from the outset. It all the time felt a contact unfair that an ostensibly stronger facet might enter the Europa League late and go on to elevate the trophy – as occurred on 9 events, most lately with Sevilla in 2023 – however that is not a chance.
Precisely the identical change applies to the Convention League from 2024/25, too. Europe’s three main membership competitions are totally distinct for the primary time for the reason that late 90s (while you had the Cup Winners’ Cup relatively than the Convention League – the latter being a really new match, after all) – and they need to all be higher off due to it.
Extra Champions League tales
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QUIZ! Are you able to identify each stadium to have hosted the Champions League last?
