New Champions League Format Starts Next Season. How Will it Work?

The Champions League trophy at Wembley. Photograph: Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images
The Champions League trophy at Wembley. Photograph: Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images
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New Champions League Format Starts Next Season. How Will it Work?

The Champions League trophy at Wembley. Photograph: Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images
The Champions League trophy at Wembley. Photograph: Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images

What is the new format?

The group stage is no more. Instead of 32 teams being divided into eight groups, 36 clubs will form a single league. Each side will play eight matches – two more than under the previous concept – against eight different opponents, four at home and four away. The top eight after the first phase will automatically qualify for the last 16, those placed ninth to 24th will face a two-leg playoff to progress, and the bottom eight will be eliminated, sending them out of Europe because they will not drop into the Europa League.

The teams will initially be divided into four pots, based on Uefa seedings. Each participant will play two teams from each pot, one at home and one away. This, in theory, will offer greater possibility for the lowest-ranked teams to reach the knockout stages because they will face two sides of similar quality. Previously they were in a group with three teams from higher pots.

-How will the playoffs and knockout phase work?

The teams finishing ninth to 16th will be seeded in the playoff draw, meaning they will face the teams placed 17th to 24th and will – in principle – get the second leg at home. In the last 16 the teams who automatically qualified will be seeded and will each face a playoff winner.

Knockout games will continue to be played over two legs but for the first time clubs will be able to plot their route to the final once the last-16 draw has been made. The draw from that point would resemble that of a tennis Open with the top two sides from the league phase unable to face one another until the final, although the fine details of how this will be accomplished are still in development. The final will remain the only game not played in midweek.

How long will it take?

More games means the league phase will not be completed before Christmas, forcing each team to play twice in January. The timings of the knockout games remain similar but if a team goes through the playoffs to reach the final, they will end up playing 17 matches. This year’s finalists will have played 13 times each.

Where will Uefa find four more teams?

The two countries whose clubs produced the best collective performance in Uefa tournaments this season – Italy and Germany – will each receive an additional place, described by Uefa as European performance spots. Before this season it was decided that one league phase place would go to the club that finishes third in the country highest on the coefficient list that did not have four guaranteed entrants – the fifth-placed nation, France. The other spot will come via qualifying. Usually four clubs enter through the champions path but instead it will be five.

What’s the knock-on effect in England?

In the Carabao Cup, the Champions League and Europa League clubs will be seeded for the first time to keep them apart to help with fixture congestion. These teams will enter in the third round, to be played over two weeks in September that coincide with designated weeks for European football. The Champions League plays in week one and Europa League in week two of the fortnight assigned for the Carabao Cup third round, meaning if, for example, Manchester City drew Manchester United, finding a date for the fixture would be impossible. Previously, European games were allotted six midweeks between September and December but this will be stretched to 10 midweeks up to January.

There is a potential issue when the Carabao Cup fifth round commences that Chelsea, if they reach that stage, would have a Conference League fixture in the same midweek. The FA Cup has no replays from the first round onwards to free up space in the calendar.

- The Guardian Sport



Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
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Messi and Miami Stunned By LAFC In CONCACAF Champions Cup

No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP
No way through: Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night in Inter Miami's 1-0 defeat to LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Frederic J. Brown) - AFP

Los Angeles FC sent Lionel Messi and Inter Miami spinning to their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, scoring an upset 1-0 victory in their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final first-leg clash.

A 57th-minute strike from Los Angeles-born El Salvador international Nathan Ordaz handed LAFC a precious advantage heading into next Wednesday's return leg in Florida.

"I think we saw a complete performance," said LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, whose only complaint was that his team had not managed to win by a more convincing margin.

"If we're honest with ourselves we need to be a little sharper in front of goal. If we get the same types of chances next week in Miami we need to be a little more ruthless."

Miami coach Javier Mascherano had few complaints about his team's defeat, according to AFP.

"Obviously we didn't have the best night tonight but it's only the first leg," Mascherano said.

"We have another game next week. We can do what we need to reach the semi-finals."

Unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since the start of the season, Messi and Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the form team of Major League Soccer.

But after a cagey first half that saw neither side manage to get on top, Los Angeles raised their intensity and began causing problems for the visitors.

LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead squandered a golden chance in the 54th minute, blasting well wide after bursting into the penalty area on the overlap.

They made the breakthrough three minutes later with the 21-year-old homegrown striker Ordaz spinning away from former Barcelona and Spain international Sergio Busquets and thumping a low shot into the bottom corner past Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.

Argentine superstar Messi, making his first start since returning as a substitute last weekend following a two-week injury layoff, struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

Instead it was Los Angeles who looked likeliest to score in front of a raucous home crowd of 22,207 fans at the BMO Stadium that included NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Miami team owner David Beckham and Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni.

US international Aaron Long headed just over from a free-kick in the 63rd minute, and moments later only a desperate goal-line block from Miami defender Maxi Falcon denied LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman.

Falcon had one of Miami's few chances in the second half, glancing a header towards the bottom corner that LAFC's former France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gathered comfortably.

In a sign of mounting Miami frustration, Busquets was booked for a wild challenge on Cengiz Under.

A disappointing night for Messi was summed up by his failure to make the most of a free-kick in a promising position deep into stoppage time, with the Argentine sending his shot whistling well over the bar as LAFC held on for a deserved victory.