'More doubt and unexpected situations'
The new format of the Champions League has caused doubts and strangeness after years of the traditional four-team group affair with the top two teams qualifying.
It would be natural for there to be some resistance at first, but it's all a matter of time and habit.
In my view, the new format is interesting and brings more excitement to the competition.
The number of clashes between European giants has increased considerably in this first phase, giving a greater chance for surprises to appear, especially if these teams don't meet so many favourites along the way.
What would have been the chances of teams like Real Madrid and Manchester City being eliminated in the previous format? The new competition brings more doubt and unexpected situations, something that is always welcome in the world of football.
The playoffs create knockout matches even before the round of 16, bringing the excitement of decisive games before the top teams are even determined. I have no doubt that much more excitement is to come.
My only comment is on the way the playoffs are arranged. I think it would be simpler to have 9th vs 24th, 10th vs 23rd and so on...
With the end of the league phase approaching, many have come to understand the process and I think the trend is towards greater acceptance in the coming seasons.
Daniel Ottoni, Flashscore Brazil
'Illogical' league system to counter Super League
Devoting yourself to the idea is the only way to live up to it. But when the idea isn't your own, you can quickly lose your footing and end up dying... without an idea. That's what's happening right now with UEFA, who have only duplicated the Super League guideline and then applied it at home.
All the while selling it as a “new format” Champions League.
The result: an increasingly overcrowded calendar, less interesting matches due to the growing fatigue of the players, a decline in attractiveness and an overdose of football for fans with matches every three days.
Aleksander Ceferin's counter-attack on the Super League with the format he denounced earlier was all wrong.
This “league” remains illogical. Playing eight matches per team in a 36-club league means levelling the playing field downwards. The total number of points required to reach the finals is far too low. And that's not to mention the way everyone's schedules are defined...
In the end, though, it makes sense, given that this new Champions League was not his idea, and that it was hastily created and launched to counter another project that was already far too advanced, and which will see the light of day in the very near future.
Pablo Gallego, Flashscore France
Variety proves successful in league phase
More than anything else, it’s simply fun to have a chance in format for variety. The Champions League had been getting a bit stale with the old group phase often petering out in the last two rounds.
In my opinion, it was feeling too comfortable for the financially stronger sides to progress.
The big dogs weren’t being tested often enough until the knockout rounds.
Sure, there are problems with the new format - it feels a little too long. However, the proof is in the proverbial pudding; we headed into the final matchday with PSG and Manchester City battling elimination!
It might not be perfect but the league phase has undoubtedly come to a thrilling conclusion.
Ironically, that’s the very thing many people worried would not happen. The jeopardy and drama in the final rounds mark the new format out as a success, in footballing terms at least, and it’s a refreshing change from the previous format.
Pat Dempsey, Flashscore Global
Does the new system ruin the magic of European nights?
More teams, more matches, more unpredictability. Seven games in, and there were still no certainties. The uncertainty of the standings until the final matchday is undoubtedly intriguing - everything is up in the air until the very end.
But is it worth making an already fascinating competition even more exhausting, with more games, a higher risk of injuries, and an even more congested calendar?
Isn’t the magic of European nights also in their rarity?
More spectacle or just more business?
Fabio Russomando, Flashscore Italy
More to come from dramatic league
The new format of the Champions League has confirmed that nothing works to invigorate the market like competition - or at least the announcement of it.
The Super League may have been laughed at by UEFA, but it made it clear that the format must first and foremost provide entertainment.
It’s not supposed to be a convenience for the biggest and a mere sample for the smaller, but a real battle to the last round. Surprises, drama or sensational promotions - I think everything is ahead of us.
It seems that the new Champions League will reconcile the romantics with the pragmatists. Will this be the case in the future? If UEFA still feels pressure from outside, I think we are guaranteed it.
Joachim Lamch, Flashscore Poland
New-look format brings more competitiveness to Europe
I had my doubts, like most people, when the newly revamped league phase was announced. Adding extra games to an already-packed fixture list seemed like a terrible idea.
However, while concerns around player welfare should certainly not be dismissed, there can be no denying that the Champions League has rediscovered its spark this season.
Not only has the Swiss Model thrown up new and exciting away trips for supporters, but it’s also benefitted the overall competitiveness of the tournament by ensuring each team draws two opponents from the same seeded pot.
As a result, we’ve been treated to plenty of heavyweight clashes each matchday while some of the competition’s so-called 'smaller' teams have been given a handful of winnable games - setting up a fascinating race for the knockout spots.
This all came to a head on Wednesday evening when all 36 teams played their final league phases matches simultaneously - a thrilling finale, full of jeopardy, that had the whole world hooked. Long may it continue.
Danny Clark, Flashscore Global
Confusion reigns for fans
It seems to me to be a bit of an unfair system, where you depend on a random draw to have an easier or more difficult path. It's not the same to play a home game against the toughest opponent as it is to play away.
Also, the fans have needed a lot of explanations to try to understand how it works.
And even so, there are many who still don't quite know how this new format works, or what is drawn before the round of 16 or more (although that need for information is good for us, of course).
Cesar Suarez, Flashscore Spain
'Dynamic and exciting' but money inequality still exists
The format has proven quite dynamic and exciting to follow, even if unclear at first glance. But having seen the first league phase play out, it’s now clear the big boys got what they wanted when threatening to launch the Super League.
The richest teams still get to play more games against each other than in the old format.
They also earn a fortune even if they perform poorly because performance money is just a piece of the financial puzzle.
So the inspiring debut of Brest still gets them roughly €20 million below City’s prize money, even after the Cityzens almost kicked themselves out. Guardiola’s crisis also proved that top teams have to try really hard to get eliminated.
Having won just twice in seven rounds, City still only needed a win over Brugge to be safe. And all the peripheral powers like Slovan Bratislava or Crvena Zvezda have cash to dry their tears with after taking one beating after another.
Michal Karas, Flashscore Poland
Round-trip thrill missing from new system
As positives, I see the possibility of having more interesting matches than just rounds and the uncertainty that reigns until the end.
On the negative side is that the formula thus becomes too cerebral one loses a bit of the thrill of round-trip clashes.
It definitely loses some of its appeal and complicates participants' seasons, with more fatigue and injury risks.
Marco Romandini, Flashscore Italy
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