MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A bold new vision for the Champions League was launched this season, meaning more games and more money for European soccer's elite, as well as a rebuttal to the threat of a controversial breakaway super league.
The new-look format, however, was intended to be about more than just further enriching the sport's wealthiest clubs. It was intended to deliver more drama, more competition and more entertainment to fans than in its previous guise, which was widely deemed to have become stale as the same teams routinely advanced beyond the old group stage.
The introduction of a 36-team league phase of the competition - replacing eight mini groups of four - has provided shock results and left some of Europe's giants in danger of early elimination, most notably 2023 champion Manchester City.
“It could happen," said City manager Pep Guardiola, whose team is in the improbable position of 25th in the standings and is currently headed out of the competition with one game to go.
“If we don’t win we won’t deserve it. We haven’t got enough points and we’ll have to accept it."
The new format is keeping interest alive
UEFA's decision under pressure from the most influential clubs to introduce a 36-team league was sold on the idea that “every game counts.”
The sense of jeopardy heading into the final round of games next week is high.
Paris Saint-Germain beat City on Wednesday, but could still miss out on the playoffs. Holder and record 15-time winner Real Madrid may have to settle for a playoff, having flirted with elimination itself.
With Bayern Munich, Juventus and last year's beaten finalist Borussia Dortmund also in the playoff positions the potential for big teams to be drawn against each other means there could be some unexpected early exits.
But it remains wide open.
So far only Liverpool and Barcelona are guaranteed a place in the last 16, with the top eight teams qualifying automatically and places nine to 24 entering a two-legged playoff.
A bold twist has leveled the playing field
League formats in soccer traditionally follow the same convention. Every team plays each other twice - once at home and once away.
UEFA has scrapped that in favor of a new schedule that sees each of the 36 teams playing one game against eight different opponents.
In the past, the highest-seeded teams have consistently qualified through their respective groups weighted in their favor. It has been far less straightforward this time around.
The initial draw involved four seeding pots, with the highest-ranking teams in pot one and the lowest in pot four. Teams were drawn to play against two opponents from every pot.
UEFA said that would mean more chance of the biggest teams going head-to-head earlier in the competition. It also means more opportunities for the lower ranked teams to play against opposition of a similar standard and ultimately the chance to pick up more points as a result.
Both of those factors appear to have helped produce a more even spread of results, with a greater potential for higher ranked teams to drop points against better opposition.
For instance, PSG has faced City, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in the league phase.
“If I look at Paris Saint-Germain, every week I think they have the hardest team to face, so they are quite low on the table, which is not their quality, but they are low,” said Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.
The league phase has set the stage for more drama to come
“Strange” and “weird” is how Slot described this new-look first phase. His team is top of the standings with a 100% record having beaten Madrid and German champion Bayer Leverkusen. But he dismissed suggestions that meant Liverpool was the best team in Europe.
And the fact the competition has thrown up so many surprises means Liverpool could yet get a very unfavorable draw in the next round.
For example, if the standings remained the same after next week's games, Liverpool would face the prospect of Madrid, Bayern, Juventus or Celtic in the last 16. Hardly a reward for finishing top.
As Slot says, “if in tennis you are No. 1-seeded you know it’s always better to face the No. 24 than to face the No. 8, or the No. 12, because this is a ranking that is done for years. But now we are in a new format where some teams are high in the league table because they had a lucky draw, or some teams are low because they had a very difficult draw.”
Before all of that comes what promises to be an epic final round of matches with so many positions still up for grabs and then a playoff round that could feature the two most recent Champions League winners and three from the past five years.
There have been upsets and epics
Lille stunning Madrid on matchday two and Aston Villa beating six-time champion Bayern set the tone for a roller-coaster ride of results.
Sporting Lisbon beat City 4-1 and Guardiola's team was shocked again as Feyenoord came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at the Etihad Stadium.
In a replay of last year's final, Madrid was 2-0 down against Dortmund and powered back to 5-2. Even more dramatic was Barcelona's outrageous comeback against Benfica this week when trailing 3-1 and 4-2. Goals in the 86th and 96th minutes sealed a 5-4 victory.
Then there was PSG vs. City with two of the world's richest clubs scrapping for survival in this year's competition. City was ahead 2-0 early in the second half, but pushed to the brink of elimination as PSG won 4-2.
Clubs wanted more head-to-head games against their biggest rivals and that has delivered its share of thrills.
More games means even more demands on players, but more money
At a time when players have raised concerns about an ever more congested calendar, the decision to expand the Champions League is questionable.
The addition of two extra league phase games comes in the same year as FIFA launches its expanded Club World Cup.
FIFPRO, the global players’ union, says its members are at breaking point. It says a significant number of players routinely play 60-70 matches a season when the union’s recommended limit is 55.
But with the new format comes a rise in prize money of at least 25% to a minimum 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion).
One more home game in the first phase also means more ticket revenue.
“We are playing two more matches, so that’s something negative about it,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “But it’s something new. And when there is something new you have to look at it and evaluate it.”
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
