The new Champions League format begins this Tuesday, September 17, with its 36 participating clubs grouped into a single group. The matches of this championship phase last until January.
LDC. Three letters that make all football fans shiver with impatience when autumn returns. But this season, the thrills are coupled with a certain curiosity with the inauguration of the new format of this Champions League, which promises to give pride of place to posters and spectacle. On the French side, PSG, Monaco, Lille and Brest will approach the competition with very different ambitions. RMC Sport explains everything you need to know about this “new look Champions League”.
A league phase that replaces the group phase
The eight groups of four teams are over. The 36 participants of the Champions League are grouped into a single ranking. This is therefore a championship phase (or league phase) with a single group.
Two more games, eight different opponents
Each participant now has eight games against eight different opponents, with half at home and half away. When the draw was made, the clubs all inherited two teams from each pot. The constraints were that it was not possible to challenge a club from the same country, nor more than two clubs from the same country. In this little game, PSG was severely served, with a draw considered the most complicated of the 36 teams.
>>> The complete Champions League draw
Matches in January
With two more games per club, UEFA has chosen to extend its calendar rather than condense it. That is why the last two matches are scheduled for January (the last in the form of a full multiplex). Despite the winter transfer window, clubs cannot register new players before the knockout phase.
Another special feature is that the first day lasts three days, from Tuesday to Thursday.
Top 8 directly qualified, play-offs to complete the round of 16
At the end of the championship phase, the top eight in the standings qualify directly for the round of 16. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker begins with the overall goal difference.
To complete the final table, two-legged play-offs are set up. This concerns the 16 teams between places 9 to 24. The eight highest ranked teams benefit from seeded status and host the return match.
The knockout stage table has already been predetermined
Unlike in previous years, the draw for the knockout stage is no longer random (although the draw for the round of 16 was not complete due to restrictions on clubs from the same country). As in the World Cup or a tennis tournament, the branches are already drawn. Also, the first and second are on opposite sides and cannot meet before the final.
For the play-offs, the new system means that the ninth and tenth are guaranteed to face the 23rd or 24th. The 11th and 12th are also certain to meet the 21st or 22nd. And so on. The draw (without restriction of country) will be used to decide between the two possibilities each time.
Then in the round of 16, the 1st in the championship phase already knows that it will face the winner of the play-off between the 17th/18th and the 15th/16th. The 8th, last direct qualifier, could potentially come up against the 9th or the 10th… unless it takes advantage of a surprise and is opposed to the 23rd/24th.
The end of the Europa League draft
From the league stage onwards, European club competitions are no longer connected to each other. Clubs ranked below 24th place are completely eliminated. There is no longer a repechage system to the Europa League or, where applicable, the Conference League.
