The New Champions League Format Has Made the Early Rounds Meaningless

In April 2021, European football faced a serious crisis when twelve major clubs announced plans to leave the Champions League and form a closed European Super League. Under the plan, the clubs would take part without having to qualify and would never be relegated. It was seen as contrary to the traditions of European football and to sporting fairness. Opposition grew quickly, and the project collapsed within a few days.

The Champions League survived, but its basic structure changed. Much of what the clubs backing the Super League idea wanted was met in the new setup. The 32-team group stage was replaced by a 36-team Swiss-style league phase. The format has now reached its third season, and according to the source article, the verdict is that the tournament has become worse as a result of this change.

The old system had its problems too. After thirty years, repeat matchups had become dull, and when teams went out of the group early, meaningless fixtures piled up. Surprise early exits had also become rare. The new format has not solved most of these problems and has added new ones. Playing just to eliminate twelve teams now requires 144 matches. What is more, most of those teams were already expected to go out early.

The league phase allows a very wide margin for error. Benfica lost five of their eight matches last season yet still reached the round of 16. PSG won only one of their first five matches, yet still finished 15th and went on to win the competition. This raises questions about the league's sporting balance.

The league table also does not offer a fair comparison. In domestic leagues, everyone plays each other twice. In the Champions League, however, teams face different opponents from one another. Although some clubs have a much harder fixture list than others, this difference is not and cannot be reflected in the standings.