UEFA has made adjustments to the reformed Champions League after the first season. The order of the play-off rounds will be slightly changed.
Previously, only in the intermediate round and the round of 16, the teams that took the respective places in the standings were entitled to play at home in the return leg. This system will be extended to the rest of the knockout rounds – with some exceptions.
Highlights of the Champions League changes
Until now, the teams ranked highest in the table were guaranteed the right to play the return leg at home only in the intermediate round and the round of 16.
In the future, the teams that finish in places 1 to 4 in the league stage will be guaranteed a home stadium for the second leg in the quarter-finals. The same applies to the first and second-placed clubs in the semi-finals.
However, if one of these high ranked teams is eliminated early, the seeding list will not be updated – instead, the winner of the match will receive a private right to play at home. Example: If the 15th ranked team in the table beats the first ranked team in the table, it will be considered the first ranked team for the rest of the tournament in terms of home court.
Last season, Paris Saint-Germain, ranked 15th, defeated top-ranked Liverpool in the round of 16. This means that the 15th-ranked team in the semi-finals may have the right to play the fourth-ranked team at home in the second leg.
At the same time, the third and fourth-placed teams in the table have no chance of getting the right to play the second leg at home in the semi-finals – as they cannot play the top two teams until then. Further changes have been discussed recently, some of which have yet to be implemented, but others have been rejected.
The idea of cancelling extra time in case of a draw after the first and second halves was rejected. This could mean some relief for players in an increasingly busy football calendar.
Starting from the 2024/25 season, the draw will be made by computer. From the 2026/27 season, matches in the same home/away group may be drawn for no more than two consecutive seasons. The third time will be excluded.
Another option for the future could be to ban teams from the same country from meeting until the intermediate round or even the round of 16. In the 2024/25 season, not only Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen met, but also Real Madrid and Athletic Madrid from Spain, as well as Paris Saint-Germain and Stade Brest from France – a problem for the respective television markets, which are guaranteed to lose one of their home teams in such Champions League matches. This proposal has not yet been approved by UEFA.
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