Is the New UEFA Champions League Format Working? | OneFootball

There was plenty of noise surrounding the news when the new format of the UEFA Champions League was unveiled to start this season. What's still up for debate is whether it should be considered a success so far.

Gone are the days of the eight groups of four teams that saw them play home and away matches against each other with the top two qualifying to the round of 16. Instead, there was a shift to a more Liga MX–style season with the top eight finishers of the league phase qualifying to the round of 16, while those who finish ninth to 24th play a two-legged playoff to decide the remaining eight teams that will advance.

Furthermore, UEFA added four more teams, going from 32 to 36 teams at the start of the competition, benefiting from the increase of two extra matchweeks with two more games every week during the league phase.

The new format was met by critics and plaudits alike prior to the start of the season. Now, past the halfway mark of the league phase, we analyze both the good and the bad of the new Champions League format.

Higher unpredictability is a plus

This time last year, with the old format, the majority of the round of 16 teams had already been decided, with only one round of the group stage left. This time around, no teams have been eliminated from playoff contention, and only Liverpool h secured a playoff spot at the very least.

Whenever the group stage draw happened in previous years, a semi-clear picture of the teams that would end up advancing to the knockout stages became visible. Modest European teams more often than not had little to no chance of making it through.

The higher unpredictability gives less powerful teams stronger chance of reaching the knockout rounds. Only six points separate the top eight from PSG in 25th, which would be the first team out, leaving plenty of intrigue for the remaining three rounds. A team like Celtic that lost 7–1 against Borussia Dortmund, remains in the playoff race with a strong chance of reaching the direct elimination rounds for the first time since 2016.

It's a kinder format that leaves plenty to be decided on the final day. Smaller clubs will unquestionably advance to the direct elimination stages of the competition, where the stakes and pressure are higher. Upsets in the playoff round are likely to happen, with plenty of Davids getting a chance to dispatch any struggling Goliaths.

It rewards mediocrity

There's no better example of how this new format rewards mediocrity than the greatest team in the history of the competition: Real Madrid.

The defending champions and title favorites before the start of the season have lost three consecutive games in the league/group stage of the Champions League for the first time in history.

If this happened in previous years, Los Blancos would be at serious risk of missing out on going through to the knockout rounds. The situation is different now, Real Madrid are still in the playoff positions and has three more favorable matchups to secure its spot in the next round, avoiding catastrophe.

Following the defeat against Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti downplayed the loss: "It doesn't change much because even if we won it was difficult to be in the top eight," he said.

Would it be surprising if Real Madrid turned around its season and ended up winning a 16th Champions League? Yes. Is it possible? Also yes. The new format allows for bad form in the league phase, making upsets less meaningful and allowing big teams to be more relaxed, knowing even three straight defeats aren't necessarily cause for panic.

Mbappé has been at the forefront of Real's Champions League problems. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

There's an increase in action and marquee matchups

The group stage rarely gave us a chance to see the biggest teams in Europe go against each other for half of the Champions League season. That's drastically changed this year.

There have been mouthwatering fixtures almost every day in the Champions League calendar. The last two matchweeks have given us: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich vs.. PSG, Atlético Madrid vs. PSG and AC Milan vs. Real Madrid, among others. Fixtures that had to wait until the knockout rounds in previous editions have become an everyday occurrence, making it must-watch television for soccer fans around the world.

Even outside of the big matches, goals galore with this new format. Matchweek 5 saw the most goals scored in a single week in Champions League history. The increase to 18 games a week gives fans more action and more to look forward too.

Although the group stage wasn't without action, it's unquestionably increased with the new format.

The issue of a crowded calendar

The rise in action has its downside. It's well known by now that players and managers are furious at the current state of the calendar that continues to make players play an ever-increasing number of games.

Injuries continue to mount, especially for players that have played in teams that have made deep title runs in recent years (see: Real Madrid, Manchester City and Arsenal). The greatest players in the world continue to be pushed to the absolute limit and the burden of the calendar is manifesting itself in serious injuries to the biggest stars in the sport.

How are teams trying to combat this? By load-managing players and compromising the overall quality of their lineups in the early weeks of the Champions League. PSG faced Arsenal with an almost alternative squad from earlier in the competition. Manchester City subbed off many of its stars in the second half vs. Feyenoord and relinquished a 3–0 lead. Without the pressure of needing to get results immediately and the concern over injuries, teams will continue to take the field in Europe's biggest competition without their strongest XI.

The pleas of players and managers around Europe demanding less games has become deafening. Until the issue of the crowded calendar is resolved, don't expect to see teams at their peak in the early goings of the Champions League.

For better or worse?

The new Champions League format was never going to please everybody since it's not a black and white subject. There have been benefits and downsides to the new format but overall, fans were always going to tune in to watch the best teams in Europe compete against each other.

It's still early days, but the unpredictability of the new format will definitely keep fans on the edge of their seats until the final round of the league phase, although it does make results in the early matchweeks become significantly less meaningful.

The knockout rounds will come around and the high-drama portion of the season will once again captivate the eyes of the soccer world, making it feel like not much has changed in the end.

From this perspective, the league phase has reduced the importance of the early part of the Champions League season, lowering the stakes and jeopardizing player fitness. There was no reason to fix something that wasn't necessarily broken to begin with. However, it must be said that the rise of unpredictability and arrival of big games early is a welcomed new wrinkle to the competition.

At the end of the day, no matter the change, the Champions League will remain as the most prestigious club competition in the soccer world.