Designed to kill the rival “Super League” project in the bud, the new format Champions League begins this week with three evenings from Tuesday to Thursday, with the entry into the competition of the four French clubs and clashes galore such as Monaco-Barcelona or AC Milan-Liverpool.
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Now united in a single league of 36, the clubs of the European elite will battle to grab one of the first eight places directly qualifying, or failing that a ticket for the play-offs by placing themselves from 9th to 24th place.
The table of the knockout rounds, starting from the 8th finals, comes from the final positions of this “league phase”, so suspense is guaranteed at all levels, until the last day.
But each club has its own personalized program of eight matches against eight different opponents: two in each pot, one away, one at home. A sporting logic that does not have unanimous support among observers, as will probably not be the reorchestration of the popular anthem of the competition.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin humorously took a jibe at Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a presentation clip in August when the big Swede was about to say the name “Super League”.
Also readFrench clubs attack the C1 and its new formula at a hellish pace
Because the barely veiled aim of this new format of the premier club competition is to cut the grass from under the feet of the promoters of a competition limited to the biggest European clubs.
Just for this first day, exceptionally scheduled over three evenings to popularize the new formula, the matches are mouth-watering: AC Milan – Liverpool on Tuesday, Manchester City – Inter Milan on Wednesday, Atlético Madrid – Leipzig and Monaco – FC Barcelona on Thursday.
But the gourmet will also be able to choose to follow Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid against Stuttgart, Juventus of former Parisian Thiago Motta, now coach, against PSV Eindhoven or even the impressive Bayer Leverkusen of Xabi Alonso away to Feyenoord Rotterdam.
The program for the first day (time in TU)
Tuesday September 17
4:45 p.m.: Juventus – PSV Eindhoven
4:45 p.m.: Young Boys – Aston Villa
7 p.m.: Sporting Portugal – Lille
7 p.m.: Real Madrid – Stuttgart
7 p.m.: AC Milan – Liverpool
7 p.m.: Bayern Munich – Dinamo Zagreb
Wednesday September 18
4:45 p.m.: Sparta Prague – RB Salzburg
4:45 p.m.: Bologna – Shaktar Donetsk
7 p.m.: PSG – Girona
7 p.m.: Manchester City – Inter Milan
7 p.m.: Club Brugge – Borussia Dortmund
7 p.m.: Celtic Glasgow – Slovan Bratislava
Thursday September 19
4:45 p.m.: Red Star Belgrade – Benfica
4:45 p.m.: Feyenoord Rotterdam – Bayer Leverkusen
7 p.m.: Monaco – FC Barcelona
7 p.m.: Brest – Sturm Graz
7 p.m.: Atalanta Bergamo – Arsenal
7 p.m.: Atlético de Madrid – RB Leipzig