The new format

The 2024/25 Champions League campaign kicked off by premiering the new format, which consisted of 8 matchdays, while teams only played each other once, scratching the traditional group stage consisting of 4 teams playing each other at home and away. The new format contained 36 teams (4 more than the previous format), making up a giant league table. The top 8 advanced directly to the round of sixteen, teams placed 9-24 qualified for the Play-offs, which is an added round prior to the round of sixteen, and the bottom 12 were eliminated. Lower ranked teams could no longer qualify for the Europa league, seeing as they also followed the same new league format. The league phase made it more important for teams to win matches and thus made the tournament more competitive.

The top 8

Out of the 36 teams, Liverpool came out on top, securing the top spot by winning 7 games and only losing one on the last matchday against PSV. They are currently the favorites to go all the way, followed closely by FC Barcelona, Arsenal and Inter who each racked up 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss and respectively placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Inter produced the best defensive record, having conceded only 1 goal in eight matches. Atlético de Madrid came in fifth place with 18 points, clutch wins over RB Leipzig, PSG and Bayer Leverkusen, but also a tough 4-0 loss away to S.L. Benfica. Bayer Leverkusen, LOSC Lille and Aston Villa accumulated 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses and respectively achieved 6th, 7th and 8th place. Aston Villa surprisingly made the top 8 after playing in the competition for the first time since 1983, when they got knocked out by Juventus in the quarterfinals.

The Play-offs

In total, 16 teams were awarded Play-off spots, which would then compete for a spot in the round of sixteen. This meant that even if teams hadn’t performed up to the highest standard, they would still have a chance to stay alive in the competition. The biggest surprises here were European powerhouses like reigning champions Real Madrid, last year semi-finalists Bayern, 2023 champions Man City and last year semi-finalists PSG not making the top 8. Man City even needed all three points in the final matchday to avoid elimination. The rest of the teams that made the Play-offs were Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, PSV, Benfica, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Sporting and Club Brugge. Atalanta were the highest placed team to just about miss out on the top 8, coming in 9th place.

The Elimination zone

A total of 12 teams were eliminated, out of which Girona were the biggest upset, having placed 3rd in La Liga last year and made the Champions League for the first time, they only managed to win one game and summed up seven losses. ŠK Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys lost all eight of their matches and Dinamo Zagreb were the unluckiest team in the elimination zone, missing out on a Play-off spot on goal-difference. The rest of the eliminated teams were VfB Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bologna, Crvena zvezda, SK Sturm Graz, Sparta Praha, RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg.

The best individual performers

FC Barcelona’s Raphinha accumulated the most goal contributions (13), having scored 8 goals and provided 5 assists. The Champions League top goal scorers so far are the 3rd highest goal scorer in the competition’s history Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Serhou Guirassy, each scoring 9 goals in 8 games and having already outscored last year’s top scorer Harry Kane who summed up 8 goals in 12 games. Charles De Ketelaere provided the most assists with 5 assists in 8 games, having already equaled last year’s top assist provider Jude Bellingham (5 assists in 11 games). Florian Wirtz, in his Champions League debut season, has won the most match MVP’s so far, winning 5 in 8 games and being chosen as the Player of the Week twice (on Matchday 1 and matchday 5).

What’s next?

The Play-offs are next and the first legs of the eight ties will be played on the 11th and on the 12th of February and the second legs will take place on the 18th and 19th of February. Brest will face PSG in an all-French matchup, Juventus will play against PSV Eindhoven, Man City will face Real Madrid for the 4th year in a row, Portuguese champions Sporting will face Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, Belgium’s Club Brugge will match up against Italian side Atalanta, Monaco will play against Lisbon’s Benfica, Feyenoord will face AC Milan and Scottish champions Celtic will match up against six time Champions League winners Bayern. These are some very interesting matchups in the competition’s newly formed Play-offs, and we wait to see what they have in store for us.

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