If the new Champions League system, specifically the league part, was a bit boring for some, the outcome of the first phase brought everything that will make the continuation of UEFA's elite spectacular. The new format was already announced in a blockbuster in the play-off for the round of 16, as it is clear that Manchester City will face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the fight for a place in the quarter-finals.
"What madness," Madrid's "Marca" described the league part of the season.
Everything will be known today at noon when the draw is scheduled in Nyon, which will "draw" the pairings for the teams that finished the league stage from 9th to 24th place.
UEFA did not want teams from this group to automatically cross paths, so that, for example, ninth-placed Atalanta plays against 24th-placed Club Brugge, or tenth-placed Borussia Dortmund against 23rd-placed Sporting, and 11th-placed Real Madrid goes straight to City, which is 22nd.
They opted for a slightly different draw, so Atalanta (9) and Borussia (10) will face Sporting (23) or Club Brugge (24), while Real (11) and Bayern (12) will play Celtic (21) or City (22).
The draw could also bring a big Italian derby between Milan and Juventus in the play-offs, as the potential rivals of the “Rossoneri” (13) and PSV (14) are the “Bianconeri” (20) and Feyenoord (19). The winners of these duels in the round of XNUMX will play against Inter or Arsenal, so a derby with one of the Serie A giants is potentially possible in the next round.
The top eight teams in the league - Liverpool (1), Barcelona (2), Arsenal (3), Inter (4), Atletico Madrid (5), Bayer Leverkusen (6), Lille (7) and Aston Villa (8) - are given a well-deserved rest until the round of XNUMX, and only after the play-off matches are completed will they learn the names of their rivals in the new draw.
They currently only know four potential rivals in the round of 15, so the top two teams, Liverpool and Barca, are waiting for one of the winners, Paris Saint-Germain (16), Benfica (17), Monaco (18) or Brest (XNUMX).
Atletico Madrid (5) and Bayer Leverkusen (6) could face Real Madrid (11), Bayern Munich (12), Celtic (21) or Manchester City (22), while Lille (7) and Aston Villa (8) could face Atalanta (9), Borussia Dortmund (10), Sporting (23) or Club Brugge (24).
The league stage - whether you like it or not - is now over, and as before, the real action in the Champions League starts with the knockout phase. First with the play-off matches (February 11/12 and 18/19), then the round of 4 (March 5/11 and 12/31), all the way to the grand final on May XNUMX, hosted by the Allianz Arena in Munich.
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