The 2024/25 Champions League draw has been made, and with the new “Swiss model” format, it has changed the entire dynamic of the famous competition.
Here is what we took from it.
Big games everywhere you look
One of the major criticisms of the former Champions League format was how straightforward it all was in the group stage, with the two “big clubs” usually progressing with minimal stress, with one or two notable exceptions in recent years.
On the other end of the scale, the proponents of the Super League wanted to see the biggest and best matches between the biggest teams only. This new format sort of has a happy medium, with the small clubs still involved but blockbuster clashes everywhere you look.
In the league format, there is a repeat of the last three finals, with Real Madrid taking on Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, as well as a rerun of the 2022 showpiece between Inter and Manchester City.
There is also yet another match up between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, with the German giants amazingly winning the last five clashes between the pair 19-2 aggregate, including that 8-2 victory.
Elsewhere Milan, seven-time winners, take on Real and Liverpool, while Arsenal and PSG will meet for just the third time, and Juventus clash with City.
Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen will be two of the sides looking to upset the established order, and will have the perfect chance to do so in the opening stages.
Granted there’s two extra games in the “league”, as well as a knockout stage just to get to the standard last 16, it still should make for some fascinating viewing between mid-September and the end of January.
Liverpool handed arguably the toughest path
Of the teams from Pot 1, and teams likely to win the competition, Liverpool have probably been handed the hardest route to the final.
There is a home clash with now-regular opponents Real Madrid, who quite clearly have the Reds’ number, and a trip to RB Leipzig, who have kept most of their stars this summer and are usually a tough nut to crack.
From Pot 2, the Anfield club got the worst teams possible in Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen (home) and seven-time European Cup winners Milan (away), and the trend continued with Pot 3 and 4, as the Reds were paired with Lille, PSV, Bologna and Girona.
If Arne Slot, who has managed just six Champions League games, is to follow in the footsteps of former Liverpool managerial greats, most recently Jürgen Klopp, he is going to have to do it the hard way, particularly with the last 16 now seeded, meaning a low ranking could result in another very tough draw.
Xabi returns home
As noted, Bayer Leverkusen will travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the “league” phase, meaning a return to one of many homes for their manager Xabi Alonso.
Alonso, of course, was heavily linked with replacing Klopp before he decided to stick with the Bundesliga champions prior to Slot being approached and appointed, so it will make it an even juicier affair than usual.
The Basque, who is in just his third season of management, has never managed in Europe’s top competition, but did bring Leverkusen to the Europa League final last season and will fancy his chances of taking his side deep into the knockout stages.
His route to a final could see him return to another two of his former “homes”, and clubs he has also been linked with: Bayern Munich, whose home ground, the Allianz Arena, will host the final, and Real Madrid, who are the team to beat again this year.
His and Leverkusen’s progress will be something to keep an eye on this year, with them now both a potential contender to win it, and a scalp for other sides.
A new ‘Battle of Britain’
Clashes between one of the Old Firm sides and one of the best from the Premier League were once a near-staple of the Champions League, with Parkhead becoming a place to fear, and a ground on which Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Manchester United side failed to win on two separate occasions in the late-00s.
However, not since the blue side of Manchester faced off with Celtic in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge (2016/17) have we got to see the best of Scotland face off with one of the best from England.
But now the wait is over, with Aston Villa to play host to Celtic in one of the eight “league” fixtures. With Villa back dining at Europe’s top table for the first time since the season after they won the whole thing, and Celtic desperate for some continental success once again, it promises to be a cracker.
Throw in the fact Martin O’Neill managed both clubs and Stiliyan Petrov played for both among a multitude of other factors, and it is one of the games of the opening rounds.
New teams, new matches
There is usually a new side or two in every season of the Champions League, but this year feels a bit different with Villa being joined by Girona, Bolgona, Brest and others as first-time entrants in the post-1992/rebranded competition.
It adds a new flavour to the tournament, and also allows for some new and exciting match-ups, one that would never be possible if Florentino Pérez, the Premier League “Big Six”, Juventus and their supporters had got their way in 2021.
Pérez’s champion Los Blancos will face off with Brest, as will their arch-rivals Barcelona, on what promises to be the two biggest nights in the Ligue 1 club’s recent history.
Both Girona and Bologna take on Liverpool, while the LaLiga side also face off against the might of PSG, Arsenal and Milan.
As for Villa, as well as their clash with Celtic, they also have two glamour ties against Bayern and Juventus to look forward to.
Let’s hope some of these sides cause an upset or two, and breathe new life into this new format.