MANCHESTER, England — The new-look Champions League format brought upsets, thrills and ultimately a new winner of European club soccer’s elite prize last season. Now Europe’s top teams are ready to go again.
It all kicks off on Tuesday, with a first round of games being played over three days this week.
Paris Saint-Germain triumphed in May with the biggest win in a final in the tournament’s history — routing Inter Milan 5-0. But its route to the final was far from smooth, having looked in danger of being eliminated at the first phase.
That was the type of drama and jeopardy UEFA wanted when embarking on a radical revamp of the competition. Gone were predictable mini groups where, more often than not, the favorites advanced. In their place was a league phase where “every game counts” and a sense of jeopardy carried through to the final round of fixtures, with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and PSG all uncertain of their fate.
Yes, the tournament was still won by one of the most powerful and expensively assembled teams in the world in PSG — but a new name was added to the famous old trophy and the format shake-up created a level of unpredictability rarely seen in recent times.
A new format brought a new risk factor
UEFA introduced a new 36-team league phase of the competition to replace the previous format of eight groups of four.
It means more teams, more games and more money. And last season, it also meant more danger for the elite.
Rather than playing every group opponent twice, teams play one game against eight different sides.
The draw for the league phase involved four seeding pots, with the highest-ranking teams in pot one and the lowest in pot four. Teams were drawn to play against two opponents from every pot.
The result is more games between the highest-ranking teams in the first phase. For instance, Madrid plays both Liverpool and Manchester City. PSG plays Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The format suits lower-ranked teams
While the format hardly improves the chances of a winner coming from a league like Norway or Switzerland, it does give lower-ranked teams more of a chance to build points and advance to the playoffs or the round of 16. That’s because they are guaranteed two games against opponents from pot four and therefore play teams of a similar quality, rather than just being rolled over by the elite.
Last season Brest and Brugge advanced to the playoffs. Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava, however, were pointless.
How many teams advance from the league phase?
The top eight teams advance to the round of 16. The next 16 teams enter a two-legged playoff, with eight advancing.
The team placed ninth plays the team placed 24th, with 10th playing 23rd and so on.
Last year that led to more drama with the previous two champions, Madrid and Manchester City, meeting in the playoffs, with City eliminated.
Don’t read too much into the final league standings
Liverpool topped the league phase — beating Madrid, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen — but PSG’s struggles meant it had to progress via the playoffs and the pair were drawn against each other in round of 16.
PSG, having finished 14 places below Liverpool and picked up eight fewer points, won the two-legged matchup and went on to lift the trophy.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot described his team as “so, so, so unlucky” to come up against “one of the best teams in Europe” after losing 4-1 in a penalty shootout. “That’s the format we are in and we have to accept it,” he said.
There are big games coming up straight away
Newly-crowned world champion Chelsea marks its return to the Champions League with a mouthwatering trip to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. On the same night, PSG begins its defense against Atalanta and Liverpool has a testing home game against Atletico Madrid.
On Thursday, Newcastle hosts Barcelona and Manchester City is at home against Italian champion Napoli.
Can anyone stop PSG?
Last season’s triumph ended PSG’s long wait to conquer Europe. Now the challenge is to stay there and do what only Madrid has managed in the Champions League era — retain the trophy.
The swashbuckling style of Luis Enrique’s team appeared to usher in a new era in European soccer. The dominant performance against Inter Milan in the final set a new benchmark.
But holding on to the trophy is notoriously difficult and PSG’s rivals have strengthened in a bid to topple the French giant.
Notably, Liverpool has spent around $500 million to improve a team that won the Premier League last season.
Madrid, meanwhile, has a new coach in Xabi Alonso, while Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City rebuild has also seen around $500 million of arrivals since January.
When is the Champions League final?
The Champions League final is May 30, 2026 and will be staged at the Puskas Arana in Budapest.
Source: AP
