We’re nonetheless solely two gameweeks into the brand new 36-team, one-group UEFA Champions League format, however it has already brought about fairly a stir.
Change will be troublesome to course of for soccer followers, particularly to longstanding mechanisms within the sport, and this newest one has been seismic. In actual fact, it has ripped up the very cloth of the competitors. Whether or not you want or hate the adjustments at this early stage, everybody can agree that it nonetheless feels a bit bizarre. However the important thing query is whether or not the pushback we’re seeing from followers is a product of typical, preliminary resistance that may ultimately soften, or one thing deeper.
Right here, we’ll take every of the foremost criticisms that we have seen levelled on the new event format (which you’ll see defined right here) and attempt to assess whether or not they’re really legitimate, or only a sign of unfamiliarity that may ultimately turn into accepted as time wears on.
1. “It is uncompetitive.”
There have been some unbelievable video games throughout the primary two gameweeks. To namecheck a handful of them: Aston Villa and Lille surprised Bayern Munich and Actual Madrid, respectively; 10-man Juventus roared again to beat RB Leipzig 3-2; and Arsenal dispatched Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 with unerring confidence.
There have been additionally some outright drubbings. Dinamo Zagreb had been thrashed 9-2 by Bayern; Slovan Bratislava misplaced 5-1 to Celtic, then adopted it up with a 4-0 loss to Manchester Metropolis; Celtic went on to lose 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund; whereas Swiss minnows Younger Boys have misplaced 3-0 to Villa and 5-0 to Barcelona.
For some groups, it has been a brutal begin. Within the first 36 video games, there have been 9 wins by a margin of 4+ objectives (and there have been eight within the first 27 video games), which dwarves the numbers we have seen within the final 5 editions of the Champions League throughout the primary two matchdays (two, 4, 4, 5, three). This has led to strategies that the brand new format has turn into much less aggressive, however there’s a few issues value taking into account right here.
First, two gameweeks is a really small pattern dimension. You may get hints from them, however hardly ever is it advisable to attract conclusions — anybody who works with information would name you mad for doing so. Second, the groups we have namechecked on the improper finish of those scorelines are not any strangers to this form of factor.
Take Croatian facet Dinamo Zagreb. They completed final of their group in 2022-23, and final in 2019-20. They certified for the 2016-17 version and did not rating a single objective, whereas conceding 15 to Lyon, Juventus and Sevilla. The yr earlier than that, they beat Arsenal 2-1, however misplaced 3-0, 2-0, 5-0, 1-0 and 2-1 within the different video games.
Younger Boys have additionally perfected the artwork of ending backside of a Champions League group, doing so the final two instances they certified in 2021-22 and 2018-19. Whereas Serbia’s Crvena Zvezda, who had been overwhelmed 10-2 over two video games towards PSG in 2018-19, misplaced their group video games by an mixture rating of 9-0 to Bayern and Tottenham in 2019-20. Even Celtic, an iconic European identify, completed backside of their group the final 3 times they’ve certified earlier than this season, twice conceding 15 instances throughout their six video games and shedding 9-0 on mixture in each video games towards Barcelona.
All of that is to point out, within the context of the size of European soccer, that the nice groups are nonetheless good, and the unhealthy groups are nonetheless unhealthy. And unhealthy groups have at all times been current within the Champions League.
Sure, scorelines have flared up sooner than standard this season, and it is going to be attention-grabbing to see if that is merely a small pattern dimension or indicative of the actual fact the event has grown from 32 to 36 groups this yr, widening the depth of expertise from high to backside. However within the entirety of the group stage in 2022-23, there have been 16 thrashings by 4+ objectives, and 14 the yr earlier than that, — so we’ll must see if the pattern continues.
As with every dataset, there have additionally been some anomalies. Younger Boys, who’re thirty sixth within the UCL desk with a -8 objective distinction, gained the Swiss Tremendous League in 2024 and beat Galatasaray over two legs in qualifying, however are bizarrely backside of their home league this yr with simply six factors from 9 video games. So you’ll anticipate their type to show round sooner or later. In the meantime, included within the listing of 9 4+ profitable margins to this point is Benfica’s 4-0 destruction of Spain’s third-best workforce Atlético Madrid. No one would have predicted that outcome earlier than the sport. So this could be the most important clue of all that we would be sensible to attend and see what unfolds earlier than dashing to judgement.
VERDICT: Wait and see
2:44
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2. “Losses do not matter.”
Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Actual Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Atlético Madrid have all misplaced certainly one of their opening two video games. In the meantime, AC Milan and RB Leipzig have misplaced each of their video games to this point and are rubbing shoulders with the likes of Crvena Zvezda within the backside third.
That is unhealthy. But the response from followers hasn’t been, which suggests many aren’t satisfied the losses are that pricey at this stage. Given the elevated variety of video games and early really feel to the desk, no single outcome feels terminal proper now. However luckily, video video games can provide us a reference level of what’s going to be required to make the highest eight computerized spots.
“Soccer Supervisor” baked the brand new Champions League format into their sport two years in the past, giving us 1000’s of simulations to attract upon, and it confirmed that groups are extremely more likely to require a minimal of 15 factors. There’s an opportunity that determine might even creep to 16 or 17, too. So if we take 16 as the center goal, which means you have to tick alongside at a median of two factors per sport to make it.
Now rethink the truth that Bayern have already misplaced to a Pot 4 facet (Villa), and face Barcelona, Benfica and PSG within the months to come back. Add to that the actual fact Actual Madrid have misplaced to a Pot 3 facet (Lille) and have Dortmund, AC Milan, Liverpool and Atalanta on the horizon. Meaning there may be already little or no margin for error for these two titans, as they’ve already dropped three factors and are nonetheless as a consequence of play two Pot 1 fixtures and two Pot 2 fixtures.
Take into account the factors goal, the fixture listing and the bottom already misplaced … and these early losses tackle a distinct complexion.
For Europe’s established juggernauts, the outdated Champions League group stage was typically about attending to 10 factors after which assessing what was wanted to complete high and safe a (theoretically) simpler knockout draw. Now, it is a struggle of attrition towards 10+ foes; if you cannot churn out the wins now, you would possibly pay for it in February.
VERDICT: Unfair
3. “It is a goals-scored competitors.”
There isn’t any escaping {that a} single 36-team desk seems to be weird. Nonetheless, splitting it horizontally into 4 sections helps massively with regards to outlining the totally different qualification zones and the place groups stand.
However one curious criticism from followers is the accusation that the Champions League has was a contest that rewards the variety of objectives scored. That is probably as a result of the highest seven within the desk are all on six factors and are separated by objective distinction and objectives scored proper now.
That is clearly one other quirk of the actual fact we’re solely two gameweeks into the marketing campaign; it’s extremely unlikely that even one workforce wins all eight video games — not to mention seven of them.
Within the outdated format, with eight totally different teams of 4, no-one would have batted an eyelid if seven groups gained their opening two fixtures as a result of they weren’t being instantly in contrast collectively. As ever, factors gained would be the actual separator, with objective distinction kicking in to divide a handful of golf equipment if wanted.
It is also value highlighting that an incentive to attain as many objectives as doable is definitely good for the sport. Followers love seeing objectives and, as illustrated earlier, we’re seeing lots proper now.
Whereas the desk could not make nice studying for these whose golf equipment discover themselves in a troublesome place, neutrals ought to be inspired by the truth that three of the seven excellent groups (Brest, Villa, Bayer Leverkusen) weren’t even within the Champions League final season. It is contemporary, it is totally different, and it piles stress on those that haven’t began effectively.
VERDICT: Unfair
1:04
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4. “There are too many video games.”
Probably the most disappointing side of this new format for some followers is the way it has added extra video games to an already stacked calendar.
There are actually eight matches as a substitute of six within the group stage, and any workforce inserting ninth to twenty fourth must play twice extra in a playoff to achieve the Spherical of 16. In the end, these groups may have performed 10 video games to get there — whereas within the outdated format, it might have been simply six. And, within the occasion a playoff workforce go on to win the Champions League, they’re going to have performed 17 video games in whole — which might have been simply 13 final yr.
Moreover, each workforce will play twice throughout the switch window in January. And that’s simply bizarre.
It is lots. And it comes at a time the place some gamers have overtly spoken about the potential of happening strike as a result of variety of video games. Certainly, Manchester Metropolis’s Rodri and Actual Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have confirmed that the gamers’ union, FIFPRO, have filed a authorized declare towards FIFA on this matter.
Maybe the true driving pressure for this was the revealing of the brand new 32-team FIFA Membership World Cup, set to happen in summer season 2025, alongside rules designed to cease golf equipment leaving their finest gamers at house. However UEFA sneaking additional video games into the brand new Champions League format may have been an element too.
This one is just about indefensible.
VERDICT: Honest
2:15
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5. “Taking part in eight totally different opponents is an excessive amount of.”
The outdated group-stage format gave groups simply three opponents to play twice, house and away. Now it is eight opponents and so they’re all totally different; there is not any return fixture to contemplate, a for much longer listing of fixtures to recollect, and extra of a carbon footprint concerned in attending to all of them.
The optimistic is that it provides nice selection to the fixture listing. If UEFA’s objective was to take away early components of repetition in video games and create a extra overarching continental really feel to groups’ experiences within the event, they’ve actually hit that transient.
The destructive is that it leaves followers unable to benchmark their workforce’s potential progress to the knockout phases early on, as it is very troublesome for anybody to determine who they’re speculated to be competing with within the desk. There’s additionally one thing odd a few league of groups whose factors tallies compete towards one another, however who do not all play towards one another. Maybe some followers additionally miss the “grudge match” component of a return fixture in a bunch too, which is perpetually gone now.
VERDICT: Wait and see
6. “The draw was horrible.”
For many who had been sceptical of the brand new format, watching an abomination of a draw course of will not have helped one bit. Clearly, the brand new format is extra technical to attract out and much much less suited to UEFA’s conventional technique of broadcasting.
However what we witnessed was a multitude that was so powerful to comply with, even Cristiano Ronaldo constantly slamming a large button over and over could not put it aside.
UEFA cannot conduct the draw privately and relay the outcomes later, as there would inevitably be accusations of fixing, however they’ve a yr to determine a distinct approach to make the draw broadcastable. The primary effort was surprising.
VERDICT: Honest