It suited PSG, but was new Champions League format a success?

Paris St-Germain has emerged as the new champion of the Champions League after the campaign has come to an end.

Since the format was introduced in the 1991-92 season, the competition’s biggest change occurred this year.

Before a knockout stage (or straight final in 91-92 and 92-93), the competition featured a mix of groups of four teams playing each other both home and away.

Eight different teams, four at home and four away, were competing in one big league phase of the expanded 36-team tournament this year.

Was it a success or did it reach its climax at the end of January, just before the customary knockout stages were set to emerge?

Nedum Onuoha, a former Manchester City defender, was pleased with the new format and thinks it has worked.

Onuoha told BBC Sport, “I’ve enjoyed it. “There were a lot of good games and lots of big moments,” he said, not just when the big teams also played each other.

The league stage’s one-time play between teams was what I thought would be the biggest change. No one was affected by that outcome, and the energy level on the lesser teams was drastically different from what it was when the teams were aware that they would play each other once more in a few weeks.

“Aston Villa’s victory over Bayern Munich was a shining example. Bayern was able to recover the points they had lost even though they had not had a second chance to defeat them.

Eventual champions PSG lost three of their first five games before coming out on top with a late win to place them in a play-off spot with fellow Ligue 1 side Brest.

After winning that, Luis Enrique’s side faced Liverpool, the team that finished first in the division, in the last 16.

While PSG are undoubtedly a top-notch side, Onuoha remarked, “Our journey shows that finding form at the right moment is what counts.” They finished in the top 24 until they won their final game before moving on to the play-off round.

That’s another feature of the format that I like, because PSG has demonstrated that it won’t matter if you don’t make the top eight in the future.

The new format, which Luis Enrique’s side, was a point made by journalist Nicky Bandini.

Without this structure, Bandini said, “We might not have seen this PSG team that has developed over the course of the season because they might have already left,” This allows us to follow their progress, which makes the journey more enjoyable.

“Every time, it’s about coming in good at the right time,” according to the Champions League, “it’s always been about improving your spring form rather than your tournament start.”

The seeding system appeared to work, with Barcelona (second), Arsenal (third), and Inter (fourth) all reaching at least the semi-finals, aside from Liverpool’s early exit.

This year’s league phase produced a much more unpredictable, thrilling, and emotionally charged conclusion than previous editions, which saw many teams qualify for qualification or elimination before the final round.

13 teams had already secured qualification for the last 16 of the previous year’s group games.

Only Liverpool and Barcelona were guaranteed a spot in the last 16 this term, though, as only the top eight league positions were achieved.

An exciting league phase finale was anticipated as a result of 27 teams still having money on the line.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said, “Typically, you find these games in the quarter-finals or semi-finals. ” “During the league phase, you found rematches of four of the last five Champions League finals.

Manchester City’s dominance in the final league game resulted in Real Madrid’s stunning defeat in a thrilling match, earning them three points in the dying phase of the competition.

According to Uefa, the new format would make sure that each match had the potential to have a significant impact on a team’s standing in the end. The precise wording used in every game counts.

On the one hand, matchday eight featured only two true dead rubber games: Sturm Graz’ 33rd vs. RB Leipzig’s (30th), Young Boys’ 36th v. Crvena zvezda’s (32th), and RB Leipzig’s (30th). Even if it meant just fighting for position, the other teams each had something to contend with. If taken alone, this is the strongest selling point of the most recent format.

On the other hand, Shakhtar Donetsk, who was practically out before the final matchday, had to defeat Borussia Dortmund and take advantage of an improbable five-goal swing to qualify. Nine other teams were already eliminated.