Why pots no longer matter and no more second chances – all major changes to Champions League draw you may have missed
WELCOME to the brave new world of European football.
More teams. More games. More prize money. More entertainment?
The draw for UEFA’s new-look Champions League takes place today in Monaco.
For the first time in 21 years there will be some major changes to the competition – starting with the removal of the group stage.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new world of European football and some points you may have missed.
ONE LEAGUE
It’s au revoir to the group stage and bienvenue to UEFA’s new league table format.
Rather than being separated into groups, all 36 teams will now feature in a single league table.
They will play eight games minimum – up from six – depending on where they finish.
AI GENERATED DRAW
Gone are the days of awkward ex-pros painstakingly fumbling around trying to open plastic balls during a snooze-fest of a draw — now, after the first team is pulled out manually, someone presses a button and AI does the rest.
The human touch at least gave fans watching from home someone to blame for their club’s unfavourable group. It also let you see Joe Cole’s fear as he tried to say Borussia Monchengladbach.
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Yet those groups rarely threw up pure drama, instead seeing the same old teams saunter through to the knockouts via at least one dead rubber.
Uefa’s hope is that the new format will put an end to that.
Blockbuster ties should be more frequent, the jeopardy of failing to qualify more intense, making for an all-round more exciting spectacle.
The firm providing software for the Champions League draw has already assured fans it will be safe from potential hackers.
After the first team is drawn manually from Pot One, a button will be pressed and that team’s eight opponents are calculated within seconds on a screen.
The software will also have a number of “checkers” within the system to ensure that no team can face more than two clubs from the same country, and no team can play against each other from the same nation.
POTS DO NOT MATTER
Pots are nowhere near as important this time around.
Being in Pot One is no longer a certainty for a simple route to the last 16 for Pep Guardiola’s men — eyeing a second Champions League crown after their 2023 triumph.
City crashed out in the quarters last term on penalties to Real Madrid, yet there is no stopping AI from pitting these two heavyweights together in the opening few weeks.
Arne Slot faces the unenviable task of emulating Jurgen Klopp in this competition, the German taking Liverpool to three finals in six years.
Their presence in Pot One alongside City is welcome but not without challenges with Dutchman Slot set to experience some tasty Anfield nights earlier than his predecessor.
EIGHT GAMES MINIMUM
The introduction of this new format will see teams play a minimum of eight games – two more than the original group stage format.
With teams each playing two more “group-phase” games, this new Champions League will allow Uefa to sell a total of 189 matches instead of 125, with the league stage alone boasting 144 clashes, up from 96.
It’s hardly a format that Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane will be licking their lips over given the fatigue they showcased for England in the summer.
The teams that finish between ninth and 24th will have to play an additional two Play-Off games.
Those that finish 25th and below will be eliminated.
NO EUROPA LEAGUE ENTRIES
The teams that finish below 24th will NOT earn a spot in the Europa League.
Instead, they will be eliminated entirely.
From the last 16 onwards, the Champions League will continue following its existing format.
New Champions League format
Each club will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.
The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.
Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.
The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots.
They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the “country coefficient” chart each season.