The Champions League Ushers in a New Era

The Champions League, the most prestigious club tournament in European football, enters a new era in the 2024-25 season, marked by a revolutionary change in its format. The first Spanish team to debut will be Real Madrid, the heavy favorite, which will begin its title defense on Tuesday against Stuttgart at the Bernabéu. On Wednesday, debutant Girona will play its first Champions League match against one of the favorites, PSG, in Paris. Thursday will see Barça face Monaco away and Atlético take on Leipzig at the Metropolitano. All four matches involving La Liga representatives will kick off at 21:00 hours.

Almost 70 years have passed since the first European Cup was launched in the 1955-56 season, when only 16 teams competed for the title in a historic edition that saw Real Madrid lift the inaugural trophy. In 1967, the competition expanded to 32 participants, marking the beginning of a growth process that reached a crucial point in 1992 with the creation of the UEFA Champions League and the introduction of the group stage. Since 2000, the current format has been standard, offering memorable moments such as Real Madrid's Fifteenth conquest, the last champion under this system. However, the 2024-25 season will mark a profound transformation with the replacement of the traditional group stage by an unprecedented league phase.

The most significant change in this new format is the increase in teams from 32 to 36, who will compete in a league phase leading to the round of 16. Instead of being divided into groups of four, the 36 teams will face eight different opponents, with four home and four away matches. This novel system guarantees greater competitiveness and excitement as teams will have more matches and more opportunities to advance to the first knockout round, keeping their aspirations alive until the final matchday. The league phase will conclude on January 29th with all 16 matches being played simultaneously, adding an extra dose of excitement to close out the first phase.

The top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16. However, the new format introduces an extra knockout round where teams ranked between 9th and 24th place must compete in February for the remaining eight spots. These two-legged ties will add tension and drama, with teams finishing between 9th and 16th place acting as seeds. This means they will face teams ranked between 17th and 24th place, with the theoretical advantage of playing the second leg at home.

Once the playoff phase is concluded, the eight winning teams will join the top eight from the league phase in the round of 16, where these top eight will be seeded. From this stage onwards, the traditional two-legged knockout format will resume. Teams finishing between 25th and 36th place will be eliminated without any chance to enter the Europa League, unlike in previous seasons.

The premier European competition kicks off on Tuesday at 18:45 hours with Juventus-PSV and Young Boys-Aston Villa clashes. In the evening slot, alongside Real Madrid-Stuttgart, there will be Milan-Liverpool, Bayern Munich-Dinamo Zagreb, and Sporting CP-Lille matches. On Wednesday, PSG faces Girona at Parc des Princes while Manchester City hosts Inter Milan among other fixtures. Barça and Atlético debut on Thursday; Barça against Monaco away and Atlético at home against Leipzig.

The reigning European champion will also start its campaign at home against a German opponent. Real Madrid will then travel to Lille before hosting Borussia Dortmund, whom they defeated in last season's final, and Milan. The final stretch of Carlo Ancelotti's team's league phase includes visits to Liverpool and Atalanta stadiums. Los Blancos will close out their first phase at home against Salzburg and finish with an away match at Brest in January.

Barcelona was luckier in the draw. After Hansi Flick's team's European debut against Monaco, Barça will face Young Boys away and Bayern Munich at Montjuic before traveling to Belgrade to meet Red Star. They will then host Brest before visiting Borussia Dortmund and Benfica in later stages, closing out their league phase against Atalanta in Barcelona.

For Atlético's new project under its inaugural match against Leipzig, they will travel to Lisbon to face Benfica next. The Rojiblancos will then host Lille before facing tough away fixtures against PSG in Paris and Sparta Prague. Atlético's league phase concludes with a home match against Bayer Leverkusen followed by an away game at Salzburg.

Girona's European debut will be away against PSG. They will then host Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava. Crucial visits to PSV Eindhoven and Sturm Graz fields await Michel's team before facing Liverpool at home. They also play Milan at San Siro before closing out their league phase at Montilivi against Arsenal.