Time to forget everything you knew about the Champions League. Only thing like before is that the trophy is waiting for the best team in Europe. And mostly everything else is changed. What’s new and what are the most notable fixtures in the new season? Time to dive into the best club football competition in the world.
New format
No more group stages, the Champions League is now like one big Super Lea…. ermmm… like one big amazing League competition with 36 teams on the same table. So, the number of the clubs has changed, before there were 32 teams divided into eight groups, now we have 36 teams in one league.
Before, 16 teams went through the group stage. First top placed team went through the knockout stage, the third placed team had to continue in the Europa League and the fourth placed team was eliminated.
Now, when every match is calculated with points, eight top placed teams qualify for the Round of 16. Teams placed from 9th to 24th will go to the play-off round and play among each other a double-leg fixture to decide who will go through to the Round of 16. The last 12 teams will be eliminated.
Since there are more matches before the knockout stages begin, that main League stage will not be over this calendar year, but round 7 and round 8 will be played in January 2025.
After knockout play-off round finishes, the competition will continue in standard format: Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals, before the big Champions League final played in Munich on 31 May 2025.
Most interesting matches
Since there are no more ‘’group of death’’ categories, that doesn’t mean that there are amazing matches coming our way this season. Au contraire!
So here is something we can all look forward to.
PSG – Manchester City
There are so many names for matches between PSG and Manchester City. ‘’The petrodollar derby’’, ‘’The gulf derby’’, ‘’El cashico’’, you name it. Whatever the name, it is a match between two clubs whose owners changed the standards of football in previous years. Rich Qatari and Emirati owners have pumped in billions of dollars in their clubs and price is not a question worth asking for them.
And while all that investment has brought some success to Manchester City, the PSG still awaits that biggest price – The Champions League trophy. City has one from two seasons ago, and they are dominating the Premier League.
PSG and City have played six times in the Champions League, City has four wins, PSG won only once, with one draw. Their last match was in season 2021/22, in group stage, City won 21 on Matchday 5.
Barcelona – Bayern München
If you are not an avid Champions League fan and someone asks you the ‘’head to head’’ score between Barcelona and Bayern, you would probably say that Barcelona has more wins. Or even that they are similar in numbers, with Bayern maybe even a couple of wins more. But would you say that Bayern has 10 wins, and Barcelona just two?
Well, that is the case, Bayern is definitely Barcelona’s kryptonite. Blaugrana hasn’t won against the Bavarians in the last six matches. Their last win was in the 2014/15 second leg semifinal. That is their only win against them in the last ten matches.
This season’s match is being played at Camp Nou. Is it time for Barcelona to improve the history stats?
Liverpool – Real Madrid
Similar story is with Real Madrid and Liverpool. But in that story, it is expected that Real Madrid is more successful against Liverpool. After all, it is the most successful club in Champions League history, with 15 titles in their showcase.
Real Madrid and Liverpool have played 11 times, Los Blancos have seven wins, The Reds have three, with one draw. Liverpool hasn’t won against Real in their last eight encounters.
Maybe this is the season for Liverpool. Because Real Madrid didn’t start well in this season, they have won only once in La Liga and their Champions League match will be played at Anfield.
Inter – Arsenal
Although very often in the Champions League, Inter and Arsenal haven’t played a lot against each other. Only two matches between them, with one win on each side. And that is from 20 years ago.
Arsenal left behind their bad football years and with Mikel Arteta came back on track, being one of the stronger candidates to go all the way! The Gunners still haven’t won the famous trophy so their fans have high hopes that the new format will be lucky for them.
Inter is always around there somewhere. Three titles in total, the last one is from 2010 and they played in the final two seasons ago. Coach Simone Inzaghi is optimistic about this season, current Serie A title holder is among favorites, but they will need some luck to go all the way.
Inter vs. Arsenal match, played at Giuseppe Meazza stadium will maybe give the answer to a question – is this the year for one of those two clubs?
The exact calendar with dates will be published on Saturday. And everything begins on September 17th. Time to get the ball rolling, the famous trophy with big ears awaits.