New Champions League format: success or flop?
With the league phase of the Champions League drawing to a close today, I took the opportunity to reflect on the key change’s to the tournament’s format and whether these have improved, or detracted from, this year’s competition.
Pictured above: the Champions League flag is unfurled at the Emirates Stadium as European football embarks on a new era
Number of fixtures
Every team will have played 2 additional games this season under the new league phase format, with those finishing 9th to 24th also required to face a 2 leg play-off for the last 16.
Pictured above: Arsenal take on Monaco - their 6th game in this year’s league phase
Whilst the additional games have allowed us to see more European football this year, the cost has been a congested fixture list, which arguably pleased nobody. Managers and players have bemoaned the stress their squads are under and although this change was most-likely aimed at pleasing fans, many are frustrated with the impact European games are having on fitness, injuries and domestic league fixtures.
Number of teams
Under the new format, an additional team qualified from Italy, Germany and France (Bologna, Dortmund and Brest, respectively). The Champions path (the qualifying path for the domestic champions of countries without an automatic qualification spot) was also expanded to include 1 extra team.
By expanding the league phase to include 36 teams instead of the previous 32, UEFA has marginally increased the accessibility of Champions League football and allowed high-quality teams who would not have otherwise qualified, the opportunity to compete. For example, the inclusion of last year’s finalists, Dortmund, could really shake things up.
The changes mean that the UEFA Coefficient is more important than ever, as the top two countries now get a 5th Champions League place. This is great news for teams sitting close to the top 4 in Spain, Italy, Germany and England as these countries have all occupied a top 2 spot at least once in the last 5 years.
Variety
The new format means that teams now play against 8 different opponents instead of 3, in the league/group stage. This has been an improvement on two fronts.
Firstly, it has meant a greater variety of games. Teams have had to adapt more quickly to different styles of play and unfamiliar opponents. This has made results unpredictable and increased the likelihood of upsets. Real Madrid’s inconsistent Champions League results have been a case in point.
Pictured above: Arsenal take on pot 1 team, PSG, at the Emirates Stadium
Secondly, we have seen games between the biggest teams. Previously, groups included one team from each seeded pot, which meant the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man City, Inter Milan and PSG would often avoid each other in the group stage. Now, each team plays two teams from each of four seeded pots and therefore games like Liverpool vs Real Madrid, PSG vs Manchester City and Barcelona vs Bayern Munich have been made possible on a weekly basis.
Europa League qualification
Europa League qualification for teams who don’t make it through the group phase is now a thing of the past. Previously, the third placed team would qualify for the second round of the Europa League. This has come as a relief for many fans who see competing in the Europa League as an unnecessary pressure on their fixture list and a reward for failure.
Increased Jeopardy
This is one which has been talked about a lot so far this season, with teams like Man City, Bayern Munich, PSG and Real Madrid all sitting outside the automatic qualifying spots going into the final round of fixtures.
With these teams spread out across the play-off spots, there could be some titanic knock-out games before we even reach the last 16. Whilst there is a debate to be had over whether it improves the competition, given these teams would likely have faced off at some point in the competition anyway under the old format, it definitely adds an exciting and unpredictable dimension to the competition’s early stages.
Complexity
The BIG drawback. The new format has made the Champions League a lot more complicated and difficult to follow.
Pictured above: Arsenal take on Dinamo Zagreb at a muted Emirates Stadium
The confusing, algorithm-based draw, set the tone for the rest of the league phase. The unpredictability of the league phase fixtures makes it hard to know where a team really stands in the League. For example, some teams face higher seeded teams towards the end of the draw and others face lower seeded teams. In addition, the different combinations of teams playing each other across the league phase makes it difficult to work out potential permutations of results.
Under the old format, it was always clear where your team stood and what your team needed to do to qualify for the knockout stage. This is no longer the case.
Verdict
The new format of the competition has, for some, been a welcome refresh of a stale and overused format. It has expanded the variety of fixtures, allowed for some high-quality group stage games between the big teams, and promises drama as we enter the play-off phase.
However, on balance, I think the verdict is still out. The complex algorithm used to assign fixtures has made the competition difficult to follow and the increased number of games has made it even more tricky for clubs to balance mid-week European football with their domestic commitments. That said, it’s early doors and opinions may shift once we get to the play-off phase and over the next few years as we become more familiar with the league phase format.