Here we go. Lille, away to Sporting Portugal, will inaugurate the new Champions League formula for French clubs this Tuesday evening, this big thing full of matches that will be made official in May 2022. On the starting line, 36 clubs, with a first phase of the competition that has completely changed compared to what we were used to seeing. We'll summarize how it works as clearly as possible.
The group stage
This is the major change with this new version, since there is no longer a group stage as such. The eight groups of four teams, with the first two qualifying for the final phase, are over. Place for a single group of 36, in which each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents (four matches at home, four away), according to a draw carried out at the end of August in Monaco. This first phase will take us until the end of January. At its end, a general ranking will be established with the 36 clubs.
Creation of a barrier to access the round of 16
The top eight teams in the overall standings will automatically qualify for the round of 16. However, those ranked between 9th and 24th will have to go through a two-legged knockout round to qualify. According to UEFA regulations, the play-offs will be defined as follows: teams ranked between 9th and 16th will be seeded and will face a team ranked between 17th and 24th, with home advantage in the second leg.
The draw will be done in pairs. It will thus determine who between the 9th and 10th will face the 23rd or 24th, who between the 11th and 12th will face the 21st or 22nd, and so on until the opposition between the 15th or 16th and the 17th and 18th. Important to know, two teams from the same country can face each other at this stage.
Please note that teams ranked from 25th place at the end of the first round will be eliminated, without the possibility of being transferred to the Europa League.
Suspense over for the final phase
At the end of these play-offs, we will therefore know the names of the 16 qualified for the final phase. A new draw will then take place, “which will determine and establish the path of the teams to reach the final”, specifies UEFA. In other words, the final table will be known as early as February 21 – and so much for the suspense.
The draw will once again work in pairs: the 1st or 2nd of the first phase will face the winner of the play-off between the 15th or 16th and the 17th or 18th. The 7th or 8th will play against the winner of the match 9th or 10th against 23rd or 24th. Sorry, there is no simpler way to explain it (but with a diagram it probably goes a little better).
17 matches instead of 13 for the winner
Once this final table is known, the rounds are traditionally played in two-legged format, until the final in a single confrontation. The club that emerges victorious from this new version of the Champions League will have played 17 matches, therefore 13 in the version that we knew until then. Enough to offer “the best for the clubs, the players and the fans”, boasts UEFA.
