Champions League Returns: Insights from the New Format
The Champions League resumes this week for its second season in the revamped format.
After over three decades featuring 32 teams divided into eight groups, the league phase will now host 36 teams competing in a single league format, with the first matches set to take place in the coming days.
This season, six English clubs are participating in the league phase, benefiting from the additional places allocated last season, alongside Tottenham, who secured their spot by winning the previous season's Europa League.
Here’s what the inaugural season of the league phase revealed about this new Champions League format.
Does Winning the League Phase Help?
In theory, winning the league phase should provide teams with a better matchup in the last 16 and beyond. The league phase champion is matched against the team finishing either 15th or 16th in the league phase.
However, last season's winners, Liverpool, faced an unfortunate outcome as they were eliminated in their first knockout round. They were drawn against Paris St-Germain, who finished 15th in the league phase after overcoming Brest in a knockout playoff by a staggering 10-0 aggregate score.
PSG then defeated Liverpool on penalties following a 1-1 aggregate draw, ultimately going on to win the tournament by defeating Aston Villa, Arsenal, and Inter Milan in the final rounds.
Making the Top Eight – A Help or Hindrance?
Finishing in the top eight allows teams to skip the knockout round playoff, earning them direct entry into the last 16. However, only half of the top eight teams advanced to the quarter-finals, and just three made it to the semi-finals, with Atletico Madrid, Lille, Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool all eliminated at the first hurdle.
These four teams were defeated by Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and PSG, all of whom realistically could have and should have finished in the top eight. Based on a small sample size from last season, achieving a top eight finish currently represents only a 50% chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
Are English Teams Dominating?
Last season, England did not present a singular dominant force in the competition. Four English teams participated in the league phase, while Germany and Italy had five teams each, reflecting their clubs' performances in European competitions during the 2023-24 campaign.
Arsenal emerged as England's top performers, reaching the semi-finals after eliminating Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Clubs from England, Italy, France, and Spain reached the last four.
In the league phase, England was the best-performing nation, with three clubs in the top eight, while Spain followed with two. Despite having five teams, Germany lost two in the league phase, with Spain and Italy each losing one as well. With six English teams in this season's campaign and four ranked in the top 10 of UEFA's club rankings, expectations are high for English teams to assert greater dominance than last season.
Are There More or Fewer Dead Rubbers?
As the final round of league phase matches approached last season, only two teams had secured a place in the top 16, whether for direct entry into the last 16 or a seeded spot in the knockout playoff round. In contrast, the previous season's group stage saw 13 of the 16 places confirmed before the final matches.
However, among the 26 teams, two lost all eight league phase matches, and ten earned less than one point per match.
How Many Points Are Needed for the Top Eight and Top 24?
With only eight rounds in the league phase, the margins for error are minimal. Last season, all teams in the top eight finished with 16 or more points, averaging two points or more per game. Except for Dinamo Zagreb, whose -7 goal difference hindered their progress, all teams accumulating between 11 and 15 points finished between ninth and 24th, securing a place in the knockout playoff round.
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