‘People are split’ – five ways new format has transformed Champions League

What an evening it was when the new league phase of the revamped Champions League reached a thrilling climax.

At half-time in their match against Club Brugge, Manchester City appeared to be completely out of the competition.

Aston Villa, in contrast, were in a real scrap against Celtic before securing a spot in the coveted top eight and automatic place in the last 16.

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

Only Liverpool and Barcelona were guaranteed a spot in the last 16 this year, though, thanks to placing in the top eight in the league.

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

And it lived up to its name, with City being one of the big winners as they came from behind to defeat City 3-1 and avoid an embarrassing early exit less than two years after winning the title of European champion.

In another area, Barcelona was held by Atalanta before falling short of the top, and Real Madrid, who has a record 15-time champion, could only finish 11th.

A Dinamo Zagreb side engaged in but ultimately failed to reach the play-offs, which meant AC Milan was reduced to 10 men and lost out on a place in the top eight.

“This new format, people are split. It is brilliant, isn’t it? Chris Sutton, a former Celtic and Blackburn player, told BBC Radio 5 Live that “we have gone down to the wire.”

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, added: “It was their]Uefa’s] dream on Wednesday night. Someone like Manchester City was on the verge of extinction based on everything on the line.

“The potential exit of the competition increases that interest for the next round, the play-off,” he said.

The decision-makers at Uefa may think they were able to get rid of the feeling that the first few matches were repetitive by creating a format where teams played eight different opponents in a league stage that culminated with 64 goals in the final 18 matches.

And speaking on TNT Sports, former Scotland and Rangers striker Ally McCoist, added:” It was a little bit chaotic at times because there were goals going in everywhere.

To counter that argument, the old group stage offered home and away matches against three opponents, with the rivalry that could deliver.

Uefa’s stated goal of making sure every game counted in this format was met in the least amount of ways, but its stated goal of a loss or win in the final match making the difference between making the last 16 and being eliminated did not materialize.

Before Wednesday, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava had already lost their first seven games, and for some time they had been resigned to their fate.

Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz and Salzburg also found themselves without anything to play for and, unlike in previous years, there is no consolation prize of Europa League football for anyone leaving the Champions League.

144 matches had already been played by the end of the league phase, compared to 96 that had already been played a year ago.

Only 12 clubs have actually left, despite the addition of four more sides and 48 more games.

Some people claim that the process of reaching the business end of the competition feels drawn out with the addition of 16 games in the play-off knockout round to follow.

On BBC Radio 5 Live, former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock said, “You will still have the big hitters later on in the competition.”

Izzy Christiansen, a former England international, added: “I’m not yet convinced by this new format.” To understand it, to feel it out, and to make my own judgment, I need a season.

” There are pros and cons. I am a sucker for the old format I watched growing up, the groups of four, the home and away games, going into the round of 16, quarter-finals and so on. “

In a repeat of the 2023 final, City hosted Inter Milan in the opening round of fixtures in September, while AC Milan welcomed Liverpool.

Real Madrid, Juventus, Barca, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain, Arsenal and Villa were also involved in plenty of glamourous matches.

And it is difficult to remember many, aside from City against Inter, that did not deliver drama, a bucket load of goals, or both.

While Real thrashed Dortmund 5-2 in a repeat of their meeting at Wembley last June, they also lost 2-0 and 3-1 to Liverpool and Milan respectively.

Barca came out the right side of nine-goal and five-goal thrillers against Benfica and Dortmund, while also defeating Bayern 4-1, and 13 goals were scored in City’s defeats by Sporting, Juventus and PSG.

There are more opportunities for people to leave their mark as a result of the overall increase in games.

Additionally, the new system was intended to promote a better competitive balance between all the teams, allowing each to face league-level opponents throughout the league phase.

But that in itself presented several contradictions, as did the seedings.

Bayern were just four points clear of Villa’s Premier League top at the time of Villa’s victory.

It made the case that some pot-four teams were perhaps just as strong as teams with higher gradations.

Yet others like Pot Three’s Young Boys, who have been consistently difficult in the competition and working domestically this season, could argue persuasively that their fixture list offered much harsher tests than others. Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atalanta were among their opposition.

For instance, Dinamo Zagreb’s 9-2 humiliation at Bayern Munich on home soil would have been averted in previous editions of the tournament.

More money is made for Uefa and the participating clubs by adding two games per club at this stage of the competition.

However, it also means more games to be added to a already congested schedule and more carbon emissions from the journey.

Fans are also subject to extra travel expenses, which are also a hot topic in the game, with Villa defending their pricing after a backlash from fans earlier in the campaign.

A 32-team Club World Cup competition has been added to the calendar this summer as a result of the expansion of the Champions League.

A number of stars, including Spain’s and Manchester City’s midfielder Rodri, have reported that players are close to striking over excessive demands being placed on them, while the global players union Fifpro, which is a part of a legal action against world governing body Fifa, has published a report raising its concerns about player welfare.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, and the BBC Sport website and app from 12:00 to eve of the match.