FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The debut of the new Champions League format was a success for UEFA, which saw everything it expected come true.
The expansion of the competition to 36 teams and the introduction of the league stage made the competition much more unpredictable, right up until the final day of the match, which could affect the entire standings and thus qualification for the round of 16.
Ahead of the new season, a rule change was introduced that greatly favored PSG, the cup winner in the final against Inter.
It all revolves around the allocation of places for the knockout stage matches and, in particular, each team could benefit from playing at home.
There will be no draw, as was the case last season, but the right will be awarded based on merit and league standings.
This is already known, but the detail that UEFA has added concerns the possibility of "stealing" this privilege if one of the teams that manage to get it is eliminated.
The teams that finish in the top four places will be guaranteed to play the second leg of the round of 16 and the quarter-finals (if they reach that stage) at home, while the first and second-place teams will also play the second leg of the semi-finals at home.
This is a big change from last season, when PSG were favored by a random draw: the Parisians had to advance to the knockout stage against Brest, having finished 15th, but then managed to reach the semi-finals, where they faced Arsenal, eliminating them thanks to a home win.
Many complained about the foul because the English team had finished the league stage in third place, and in the opinion of the fans, they should have enjoyed this advantage.
Starting next year, the draw will be scrapped to make way for a meritocratic system. The top four teams will play the second legs of the round of 16 and quarter-finals at home, but the teams that eliminate them will be able to steal this privilege.
In practice, those finishing 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 23rd or 24th (and therefore potentially drawn against one of the top four teams) can inherit this privilege if they advance to the next round.
The rule change will apply not only to the Champions League, but also to the Europa League, the Conference League and even the Women's Champions League.
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