The European plants underwent a significant facelift this summer. The Champions League and Europa League have grown from 32 teams to 36 teams, the group stage has been completely canceled (also in the Conference League, where 32 teams will still play) and European football is taking a different path: more games, more meetings between teams of the same tier, more money and a little knockout stage different from what was drawn. So just before the new Champions League draw, we answered all the burning questions.
How were the last 4 extra tickets for the champions distributed?
Remember, for the purpose of the increase, France, the fifth-ranked country, received an automatic and third ticket to the Champions League, and in addition, the German league and the Italian league also received a fifth representative for the factory due to the fact that they finished with the highest score last season. Another representative qualifies for the Champions League through the Champions route and the picture is completed. UEFA’s rationale is to give more power to teams from the top leagues, so each year awarding the two tickets to the top leagues based on points would naturally favor strong Western European countries.
What is the new method?
As mentioned, 36 teams will play in one long league, similar to the Euroleague, but as mentioned, each team will play 8 games against 8 different teams and not against all the teams in the league. The eight teams with the best balance will automatically qualify for the round of 16 at the end of the 8 rounds. The 9th to 24th ranked teams will qualify for the playoff stage using the away game method and the winners there (8), will join the 8 automatic qualifiers for the round of 16. All the knockout stages will be held in the home-away system, as per the best tradition, while the final match will be held in a neutral stadium (Munich) at the end of the season. The teams ranked 25th to 36th at the end of the league stage will be kicked out of Europe and will not be relegated to the Europa League. Even the last ones in the Europa League will not be relegated to the Conference League.
Getting Started (Getty)
How will the lottery take place?
As mentioned, 36 teams that qualified directly for the Champions League, i.e. the league stage, will be divided into 4 tiers with nine teams in each tier. The computer will start taking out the games of the first team from level 1 and so on. The idea is to let the computer draw to avoid the famous ball method and shorten the drawing process. Each team will play 8 games against eight different opponents, 4 times at home and 4 times away. The restrictions (if the computer can provide them) will be as follows: meetings from the same league will be prohibited, and a team will not be able to meet more than two teams from the same country. For example: Real Madrid will not be able to play against Barcelona, while Manchester City will be able to meet up to two German opponents, for example Bayern Munich and Dortmund, but not Leipzig, Leverkusen or Stuttgart. Ranks unlike in the past will have less meaning, since each team will play twice against the same rank and the schedule of games should be balanced.
Does the position at the end of the league matter?
Certainly. Beyond the fact that it is important to finish in the top eight to automatically qualify for the round of 16, the two teams that finish with the best balance in the league stage will not be able to meet until the Champions League final. In fact, with the end of the league stage, the teams will be separated into a special tree (like in tennis) which will be determined based on the final position of the league stage.
In the knockout stage (places 9 to 2$) there will be a lottery where each opponent will have two options. For example, the ranked 9 or 10 will meet the ranked 23 or 24. The ranked 11 or 12 will meet the ranked 21 or 22. The ranked 13 or 14 will meet the ranked 19 or 20. The ranked 15 or 16 will meet the ranked 17 or 18. The ranked 9 to 16 will play the second game at home.
At the end of the league stage, the top eight ranked teams will have 4 possible opponents and they will host the second game at home. 1st or 2nd place will meet 15th or 16th or 17th or 18th place. 3rd and 4th place will meet 13th or 14th or 19th or 20th place. 5th or 6th place will meet 11th or 12th or 21st or 22nd place and 7th or 8th place will meet You are 9 or 10, 23 or 24.
What is the new tie breaker?
Since not all teams will meet in the league stage, in the event that two teams finish with the same number of points, the first tie breaker that separates them will be: goal difference in the league stage and not a head-to-head balance. The following parameters will be: greater number of goals in the league, greater number of away goals in the league, greater number of victories in the league, greater number of away victories in the league, higher number of points obtained by the opponents of the teams in the league, greater goal difference of opponents in the league stage, number A greater number of opponents’ goals in the league stage, a lower amount of yellows and reds, and the ranking of the teams in UEFA. The head-to-head balance will be abolished.
Chaprin. Will his change make a difference? (Getty)
What are the league dates and times?
Two days after the draw, the complete order of games before rounds will be announced. In fact, the new Champions League will continue to take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the first round (September 17-19) will be skipped and will also take place on Thursday in a festive block. Two games each evening will be held at 19:45 (Israel time), as has been customary in recent years, and the rest of the games will be held at the main time: 22:00. Since the factory was expanded, the league games will also slide into the month of January, when the last round (round 8) will be excluded and will take place entirely on Wednesday 1/29 at catch-up time (10:00 p.m.). The knockout playoff stage games will take place in February and the round of 16 in March. In these two stages there will be two matches each day at 19:45 and the rest at 22:00. Starting with the quarter finals, all games will be played at 10:00 PM.
League stage games: September 2024 – January 2025
The knockout-playoff games: February 2025
Round of 16 games: March 2025
quarter-final games: April 2025
The semi-finals: April-May 2025
the final game: May 31, 2025 in Munich
