Is the reform of the Champions League a statement for the Superliiga, which was in tune? “Now there is more tension” | Sports in a nutshell

Expert Antti Pohja is happy about the men’s Champions League, which starts on Tuesday, with a new look.

Starting this week, instead of the former group stage, the 36-team league stage will be played in the men’s Champions League.

The change is the most significant since the 1992 season, when the European Cup became the Champions League and moved to the group stage.

So now we move from the group stage to the league stage. The number of teams is also increasing. In the old system, there were 32 teams in the group stage, now there are 36 teams in the league stage.

– Personally, this was a good reform for me, because I was already a bit tired of the Champions League group stage. It was a little predictable. Now there is more to be excited about – if nothing else, at least something new to learn through the new tournament format, says the expert Antti Pohja.

In the new system, each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. There will be four home matches and four away matches for everyone. The teams are divided into four baskets and two opponents from each basket are drawn for all teams.

– I’m probably not terribly wrong if I say that Uefa has also thought about money here. More matches and more things to see, adds Pohja.

In the league stage, you will see epic matches such as Liverpool – Real Madrid and Barcelona – Bayern Munich. Immediately in the opening round, the biggest treats are, for example, Milan – Liverpool and Man City – Inter.

– In this reform, we have listened carefully to what the public wants and maybe also the clubs. The public wants to see the games of the “greats”. Now we see encounters of such giants right from the start, says Pohja.

– It’s also worth remembering that a few years ago there was a “Super League”, against which this is perhaps a sort of statement, i.e. a response to the fact that there is no need for a Super League. Now you can watch great club team games for up to half a year, explains ‘s expert.

In his speech, Pohja refers to the Super League project developed by the twelve financially largest European clubs, which, however, failed in practice when the Premier League clubs withdrew from the project due to ambiguities in April 2021. 20 teams were planned for the Superliga every season.

Playoffs almost unchanged

The eight best teams in the league stage qualify directly for the playoffs to the top 16.

Teams ranked 9-24 play two-part qualifiers to qualify for the playoffs. The season of teams ranked 25th and lower in the Champions League will end, and it will not continue in the Europa League either.

– There are now more important matches until the end of the first group stage. And teams can’t be sure of their rankings until they’ve played all eight games. On the other hand, clubs can advance to the playoffs even in the last round. That is also a really important thing, says Pohja.

From the quarter-finals, i.e. the playoff round of the best 16, the competition continues as before.

All matches, except for the final, will still be played in the middle of the week. The playoff matches are two-part, i.e. they are played at each other’s home, and the total goals decide who goes on. The one-part final will be played on Saturday, May 31 in Munich.

Finns in the Champions League

Lukas Hradecky representing Leverkusen has a demanding program. It faces, among others, Inter, Liverpool, Milan and Atletico Madrid.

The Finnish match will also be seen, as Leverkusen will meet at home Kairinen too represented by Sparta Prague. Among the toughest teams, Sparta Praha will also face Inter, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. The coaching of the Czech club includes the Huuhkajie coaching team Tim Sparv.

Keeper Viljami Sinisalon club Celtic will receive, among others, Leipzig, Dortmund and Aston Villa.

With the change, Uefa wants to get more meaningful matches and more encounters between big teams. With the new system, the total number of matches in the Champions League will increase from 125 to 189.

The league phase now continues until the end of January, while previously the initial groups had been played before Christmas.