Champions League: what we've learned from the new format so far.

• This season has seen the Champions League debut its new format for the first time
• Teams play eight matches against different teams and are all ranked in a league table
• Among the early leaders after two matches are Brest, Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen

We’re two games into the Champions League, and it’s a Champions League tournament unlike those we’re used to. Gone are the groups of four teams, as the new league format gets tested for the first time.

 36 teams are playing eight games each against different opponents, with all teams ranked in a joint group. 

The top eight receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams from 9th to 24th will enter play-offs for a chance to go into the knockout phase, with those from 9th to 16th seeded. The teams from 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competition. It’s certainly different, so what have we learned from the format so far?

Who’s doing well (or not) so far?

Well, it’s still early days yet, and the table means very little at this point. In the past, you knew who was in each group, and that everyone would play each other twice, but with each team playing against eight different teams, it’s difficult to figure out everybody’s chances.

Take Brest, for example. The French side, who finished third in Ligue 1 last season, sit second in the table with two wins from two games. While that’s a great position to be in, it’s important to note that they played Sturm Graz and Red Bull Salzburg. They’ve got games against Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona and Real Madrid to come. 

Likewise, AC Milan are near the bottom with zero points from two games – against Liverpool and Leverkusen. While they’ll be disappointed to come away with nothing, they’ve played a couple of Europe’s strongest teams. Upcoming matches against Club Brugge, Slovan Bratislava and Red Star Belgrade should offer some relief, a meeting with Real Madrid notwithstanding. 

Why the new format could help smaller teams

While football’s governing bodies are often accused of prioritizing the biggest, richest clubs, the current format could actually work in the favour of smaller teams. Previously, a team in Pot Four of the draw were relying on getting a lucky draw. And, because everyone played each other twice, and individual scores would count ahead of goal difference for teams on equal points, bigger teams would be better off. If a smaller team won at home against a bigger team, it would often be cancelled out by a larger loss away. 

Now, however, each team will always play two teams from each pot, while goal difference will be the main deciding factor when teams are on equal points. It’s not ideal that teams won’t play each other twice, but at the same time it should be easier for a small team to make it through; if a Pot Four team beats their rivals from the same pot and gets another win or a couple of draws elsewhere, they’d likely qualify – or at least make it to the play-offs. 

And so far, there have been some good matchups. We’ve already seen a repeat of the 2023 final between Manchester City and Inter Milan, and a repeat of the 2005 and 2007 finals with Liverpool and AC Milan. Among the games coming up are Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona v Bayern Munich, and Juventus v Man City, which all have the potential to be entertaining games between European heavyweights. 

The big names are still on form

As for the top scorers and best performers, nothing is too unsurprising. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane is the current top scorer with four goals, though his team did lose to Aston Villa this week, while the likes of Karim Adeyemi, Benjamin Šeško, Robert Lewandowski and Dušan Vlahović have chipped in with goals. 

Kane’s teammate Michael Olise has had a good start to life at Bayern following his big-money move from Crystal Palace in the summer, and he has a couple of goals to his name too. 

Meanwhile, the favourites are still the favourites. Manchester City might have lost Rodri through injury in a big blow, but they’re still likely to be there or thereabouts come the end of the tournament. Reigning holders Real Madrid, too, are among the favourites despite a few more draws than they’d like. Among the other favourites with most bookmakers are Bayern and Premier League duo Arsenal and Liverpool, while Barcelona and Leverkusen are also in the conversation. 

There’s an argument to be made that the Champions League in its previous guise was a little stale. It was usually pretty easy to predict which teams would qualify from a group before a ball had even been kicked, and then a few months later Real Madrid would win the whole thing. 

Now, it feels a little more interesting. While the days of teams like Red Star Belgrade and Steaua Bucharest winning the competition are likely behind us, there’s the potential for smaller teams to surprise. Those like Brest and even Sparta Prague, who have four points from two games so far.  

The changes to the Champions League format might be controversial, but it’s been a decent start to the competition so far and we might see some smaller teams in with a better shot of winning. The league format feels somewhat unconventional, but maybe a shake-up is just what this tournament needs.

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