UEFA Champions League New Format Explained.

 

The Chaaaaaaaaaampions League, we can never overlook this tone and nor the nail biting fixtures such as Roma’s revival against Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax or Barcelona’s ridiculous and heroic resurgence against PSG. The away goals in the tournament kept the fixture compelling and realistic, but from this season onwards, they have scrapped the away goal rule. Some have questioned this decision while some are in favour of this. Nevertheless, UCL gave us some marvelous games like Real’s victory against PSG at the Bernabeu, Benfica knocking Barcelona and Ajax out of the competition and Ronaldo’s last-minute save to carry Man United in the contention until they got knocked out by Simeone’s men.

Some slight variations in the game haven’t influenced the game, but it is going to transform wholly from 2024-25 period onwards. It would enter into a new television contract and raft of various commercial agreements.

We all have questions such as What the Champions League looks like, why the need, the working procedure; so without wasting anymore time let’s dig in!

The new format is usually pointed out to as the Swiss Model which means clubs play a set number of games rather than facing every other team in the league and is widely adopted in sports such as chess where league, group-stage or straight-knockout formats are ill-suited.

36 (4-additional new clubs would join the new format) teams would succeed the 32-team group stage into one giant league stand.

Each competing club would play 10 league game: 5-Home and 5-Away. A seeding structure would figure the fixtures out based on clubs ranked on performance in the preceding UCLs.

Once, every club completes their 10 league games, the top 8 of the list would advance to the later round while the remaining sides would play a play-off, from which 8 sides would accompany the other and establish a 16-side knock-out round.

This shift in the format provides more chances for teams to qualify for the next round. Previously, under the 32 team based model, 16 of those teams gets eliminated just after mere 6 games, but under the new format, it assured them 4 extra games to proceed. From a monetary standpoint, Europe’s elite club plays each other more often, which means higher ticket sales, a substantial television market for sponsors and an opportunity to earn bonus money.

The competition has now expanded from 32 to 36 clubs, which means 4 new teams would join and assuming the rule, these 4 spots would go the next best domestic league based on UEFA Coefficient ranking. But that’s not the case. The 1 spot would be reserved to Ligue-1 presenting them at equal position with England, Germany, Spain and Italy.

1 spot would be allocated to a team that performed well in recent champions league. For example, in 2019, Ajax reached the UCL semi-final but was not assured a spot for next year’s edition. They had to go through qualifying rounds to make it the group stage as Eredivisie doesn’t guarantee a Champions League spot. The remaining 2 spaces are going to be extremely controversial as they are going to be a safeguard for underperforming clubs. They would set aside the spaces for the teams with the best club coefficient based on performances in Europe over previous 5 seasons and managed to finish within 5th to 7th position in the league. Clubs such as Arsenal would feature regularly in the tournament. The extra zones would also mean that Europe’s top-4 league could wind up with 6 squads in the UCL.

The extra capacity handed over to them would again mean that third ranked teams in Russia or Netherlands and runner-ups in Switzerland and Greece may not feature in the game, instead a 7th placed a club in La Liga or Serie A would feature; comparable to Super League, where only Europe’s rich and elite clubs would feature.

The modification would be extensible, meaning more games to be played, with football’s calender already congested. How will UEFA accommodate the schedule is a question to be asked.

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Uefa Champions League Review-2021/22

 

UCL Group Stage Review

 

Ah.....The Beautiful Game would return this week and the Illustrious Club Competition, i.e. The UEFA Champions League would return next week. With the competition coming back next week, a typical question has popped into everybody’s mind that who will have the alluring cup at the end of the season. To answer your question, let’s examine the group stage and forecast which clubs would progress for the next round while which club slip into the Europa League Round of 32..........

Group-A

Group A consists of Club Brugge, Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain and RB Leipzig. The biggest climax of the group is ManCity Vs PSG. It carries huge expectations and am confident that it won’t deceive us. The G.O.A.T reuniting Pep, the deadly trio of MNM, rock solid defence of City, Sergio Ramos at back with PSG. The game includes everything that an unbiased fan would demand.

Let’s not overlook Leipzig and Club Brugge, both recognized for big upsets. Both clubs have the potential to bewilder any of the big club but it would be a laborious task for them. Leipzig has lost their captain, centre back and coach to their rivals; Bayern Munich.......Brugge doesn’t imply like a side that can cause the upset, a touch of magic is lost that was present 2 seasons back before taking Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

My prediction City to lead the group, Pochettino has a talented squad with tremendous calibre but can he deal with the egos of the players, can PSG as team actually perform when it matters, Pep with more experience would outclass the start-studded team of Paris. It’s not about squad instead, it’s all about the mindset. Remember the Galacticos also failed to win a single edition of Champions League during their era.

Final Standings: 

1. Manchester City

2. Paris Saint Germain

3. RB Leipzig

4. Club Brugge 

Group-B :

The Group of Death aka Group-B : This group presents some of the finest club, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Porto. All 4 great teams with corresponding skill to knock one another. The games matched in this group would be of high intensity, compelling, and maybe a low goal scoring rate.

Roughly a decade later, Milan has eventually qualified for the Champions League. It’s pitiful how a club with second most Champions league Trophy failed to qualify for a single edition of the UCL for eight successive periods. Milan, led by Zlatan, has the potential to top the group.

Atletico Madrid looks the strongest side among the four, with Griezmann back at the club joining with Suarez and finishing the signing of Rodrigo De Paul. This side looks nasty. The Last time Atleti were marked as contender was the 2016/17 where they reached the ultimate but lost the match with Sergio Ramos equalising at 92:48 and Real outshining the locals at extra time. This time Atleti is a serious challenger for the title.

Liverpool looks fragile, with no fresh signings, and scarcity of squad depth may cause trouble for the Reds. Porto is the side that would be responsible for causing the dismay and barring a side for qualifying the latter round.

Final Standing:

1. Atletico Madrid

2. Liverpool

3. AC Milan

4. Porto

Group-C :

A group that can readily be foreseen. It’s the most certain group of this year. It features Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Besiktas and Sporting Lisbon.

Dortmund looks rich with the Machine Haaland on the sheet associating with American genius Reyes. Ajax sounds great.Their remarkable stretch of 2018 was something unique but losing key players and with Onana on ban, the slope of this club has gone down but carries the potential to dazzle everybody.

Besiktas looks formidable, they recently signed Pjanic on loan from Barcelona and Michy the Batman on loan from Chelsea. The teams look wonderful and clean. This side might turn into the dark horse for the season.

Final Standings:

1. Borussia Dortmund

2. Ajax

3. Besiktas

4. Sporting Lisbon

Group-D :

Group-D the homecoming of last year Group-D participants except Mönchengladbach exiting the party and the new Romanian Club Sheriff joining the party.

Real Madrid looks solid and may have a shot this year. Carlo Ancelotti is back at the club. Hazard is in shape and in form, Bale looks cheerful and in form. Courtois in fine form,the back looks solid with the signing of Alaba, Kroos, Casimero and Modric in the midfield and Asensio back from injury and Valverde signing a new contract allows us a positive view. Yes, Sergio Ramos left the club.He carried and stood by the club, a true legend and no one can succeed him. But this side looks wonderful. Last season they weren’t able to score goals but this year it’s the contrary. Don Carlo is doing his job well. If they are able to sign Mbappe and Real remain free of injuries, they can pick up their 14th Champions League in style.

Inter had a terrible window,they sold Hakimi to PSG and sold their Star Player and their MVP Big Rom to Chelsea for a record fee of $115 millions. Even before that Conte left the club due to disagreement. Things don’t look for good for the Blue side of Milan who just won the Scudetto and ending Juve’s Reign. Yes, they have signed Hakan calhanoglu from Milan, Dzeko from Roma and brought Dumfries,not much is expected from Inter this season. They need to buckle up their shoes to steer their path to victory.

Shakhtar Donetsk, the club that startled Real Madrid in both the group matches, this side has tremendous capability. A club you would prefer not to wreck with. The Ukraine side looks fresh and strong.

The new representative of the Club Competition is the Romanian Side, Sheriff. Yes, everybody would hop in to collect all 3 points from them and this club would decide the destiny of others. Anyone slip against Sheriff then they are in grave danger for qualification.

Final Standing :

1. Real Madrid

2. Inter Milan

3. Shakhtar Donetsk

4. Sheriff

Group-E :

The roster features Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev.

The most curious game would FC Barcelona VS FC Bayern Munich,the last time they faced it concluded with Bayern thrashing 8 goals with Coutinho on loan from Barca netting twice. How Ridiculous!

A year has passed and offered us the Craziest Transfer Window of All Time. Barcelona would be without Leo Messi roughly two decades later, Suarez and Griezmann at Atleti. The situation doesn’t look favorable. Yes, they have registered Memphis Depay, who is absolutely destroying the defence and saving Barca,they signed Aguero but he is injured.From The trio of MSG to possibly MMG it has degraded to Memphis Lord Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong. 

Shocking, I know,god knows what Barca is executing.

On the other hand, Bayern is strengthening their squad. They have signed Julian Nagelsmann, Upamenco and Sabitzer from Leipzig. They didn’t have a strong start to Bundesliga but are showing promising signs of a fierce season, they recently crushed a side from lower division by accumulating in 12 goals in a Cup competition. Beware of Bayern Munich especially, the London side.

Final Prediction:

1. FC Bayern Munich

2. FC Barcelona

3. SL Benfica

4. Dynamo Kiev

Group-F :

This Meet is a delightful group; it features previous season Europa League Finalists : Manchester United and Villarreal, the next team is the most striking side from Italy-: Atlanta BC accompanied with the Swiss Club Young Boys FC.

Manchester United meant business this time,they signed Raphael Varane from Madrid; the King returns to his kingdom; the G.O.A.T CR7 from Juventus and eventually signing Sancho from Dortmund. You shouldn’t underestimate this team. Ole at the Wheel might become real. Imagine CR7 at the Front with Rashford and Sancho at the wing with Pogba, Bruno at mid-field and Varane-Maguire-Prime De Gea at back,this side looks scary. They are already favourites to win the Premier League and they might add UCL Trophy to their bag. The Glory Days is back maybe........

Villarreal makes the 5th Spanish side to qualify for Champions League this season by winning the Europa League on penalties against United. Unai Emery has reconstructed this side. Signing key players and scouting young talents have paid off,the prospect of Villarreal looks sharp. The one to check out would be Gerard Moreno, who received the Player of the Season in Europa League. Let’s see can Unai Emery win the Champions League or go with the Europa League plan and try to do the three peat like at Sevilla.

Atlanta BC : Gasperini has completely revolutionized this team. He took this club from Serie B and qualifying for UCL in their first season at Serie A; they have astonished everybody. Playing aggressive, fast counter-attack and rock solid defence, the team won hearts of many fans.They are one of the most scoring side among Top-5 leagues and entered the knock out stages in UCL last season. Maybe this year they are the dark horse and top every expectation.

Final Standing :

1. Manchester United

2. Villarreal FC

3. Atlanta BC

4. BSC Young Boys

Group-G :

A balanced group that subsists of LOSC Lille,RB Salzburg,Sevilla and Wolfsburg

LOSC Lille shocked the world when they won the French Ligue. PSG were always the favourite to win. No one can compete with them in the ligue. But this side repeated the Leicester 5000/1 odd. Lille’s triumph proved that wealth is not everything and no amount of a bag full of money can ruin our beautiful game. Even though the side looks good, but have lost their manager who was instrumental in their campaign last season. In the French ligue, they are struggling and we need to see what this side brings to the tournament. 

The Austrian side is always the one to look for. They are an entertaining side to watch. You can scout many bright talents from this, of course no one can forget about the wonder boy Erling Haaland destroying defences week in and week out. The only question is, can they repeat their 2018/19 season this season even though they lost their American Coach?

Ah Sevilla, Sevilla are always ambitious. They have managed to knock some big teams from the competition. You can’t write Sevilla off. They knocked Jose’s ManU in the RO16 and won the double legged match against Ole’s United and picked up the Europa League against Conte’s Inter 2 season back. Yes, they are noted for Europa League and everybody wants them to finish 3rd and win Europa League but time has changed, Sevilla means business, they recently signed Erik Lamela from Spurs and boy he is remarkable, coming as substitute in both games and scoring in them. This side would make trouble for your team.

Wolfsburg, the team that paved the course for Kevin De Bruyne. Their most memorable match is the double legged match against Real Madrid where they won the game 2-0 and their coach commented that Real are the weakest side of all the strongest team and then Cristiano Ronaldo happened and won the leg 3-2 and went on to win the Champions League. But this Wolfsburg team is distinctive than the team we observed last time,they play more cooperatively with short passes. A wonderful side with potential.

Final Standings :

1. Sevilla FC

2. Wolfsburg

3. RB Salzburg

4. LOSC Lille

Group-H :

Group H consists of the Defending Champions Chelsea, Juventus, Malmo and Zenit.

Since the appointment of Tuchel, Chelsea looks dangerous. They are rock solid at back with Kante and Jorginho at mid-field and Kai Havertz or Mason Mount at CAM. The sole obstacle was a striker that can score, Werner was signed from Leipzig but didn’t flourish well. He has more misses than his goal and people mock him by saying the next Morata, what a shame! To fix this issue, Chelsea signed Big Rom for a club record fee of $115 millions. Chelsea is on the next level. They have an excellent squad depth, master tactician and an accomplished side. They are better than every side that features in the tournament and are the favourite to win the Champions League again. At this stage, no one can contest with them. The Blues are on a honeymoon period. We need to wait for who breaks it and when will they hit the ground.

The next on the list is Juventus. Juventus is feeble now. They have mid-field that cannot pass the ball forward and a GK that isn’t good at shot-stopping. It’s misery for Juventus. They signed Ronaldo for securing the Champions League, but ignored that they need a team too. In Ronaldo’s time at Juve, he was the top scorer in all three seasons; he scored the majority of the goals at Champions League and now they denounce him. If thing goes on like this, Juventus would turn into the next AC Milan soon. They need to turn the table promptly, the only positive from this side is Paulo Dybala a Gem.

Final Standings :

1. Chelsea FC

2. Juventus FC

3. Zenith

4. Malmo FC

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Champions League Prediction-2019

 Champions League Prediction-2019

 

The whole world went into an unprecedented situation, nobody knew what lied ahead in front of them. Even our beautiful game was stopped for two months but now with situation coming under control, football has resumed again with little changes in them.
The most entertaining completion with full of late drama, action and nail-biting encounters, the UEFA Champions League was also paused but now it with full precautions and proper guidelines the UCL will resume from 7^th August and the final will be held at Estadio Da Luz at Portugal on 23^rd August.
Before I start my prediction let us discuss the story so far.

In the Round of 16 the German Dark Horse RB Leipzig had defeated last year UCL runner-up Tottenham Hotspur. Atletico Madrid stunned the whole world, they defeated the current UCL champions Liverpool who were undefeated in the Premier League at that time. Everybody predicted Liverpool to advance but in the extra time Madrid boys Morata and Llorrente shattered the Red’s hope. PSG matches are always fun to watch.  In the first leg wonder boy Erling Haland scored twice but in the reverse fixture, incredible Neymar and his team eliminated BVB to reach the quarterfinals and even mocked BVB after their win. We then proceed to the most controversial match, Real Madrid Vs. Manchester City, Isco had put Real up but then Gabriel Jesus scored the equiliser and then the controversy started, a simple tackle was made by Real’s defender but ref marked it as a foul and a penalty was given which KDB converted it from the spot and later Sergio Ramos was booked and given a red card. Many pundits stated the quality of the referee was poor and some says that City had bought the ref to win the match. A reverse fixture is still left which will held at Etihad. The German Giants has a hobby to humiliate English clubs, first they humiliated Spurs by smashing 7 goals then in Round of 16 they smashed 3 away goal without a reply, Bayern are already the favourites to win the reverse fixture at Allianz Arena.  This year’s surprise team is Atlanta, they did an incredible comeback by qualifying for Round of 16 and later they humiliated Valencia in both the fixtures. With Juventus looking as a favourites to win was stunned by Lyon and are still trailing by 1 goal but a comeback at Turin with CR7 is possible for them. Last but not the least Napoli held Barcelona in the first leg with a 1-1 draw.

Quater Final-1

Here it comes, personally the most exciting fixture of this whole tournament.

 The quarter final will be played between the winner of match between Man City and Real Madrid VS the winner in Juventus VS Lyon.

In this fixture we can expect CR7 return to Madrid, but both the teams are trailing by a goal. Madrid will play away at Etihad, while Juventus will play at home against Lyon. All the 4 team are equally are strong but in my view, Madrid are always a better team in away matches so they would snatch a sneaky victory at Etihad while Juventus may look fragile right now since restart, especially their defence looks shaky and in Lyon, Memphis Depay has come out of an injury to boost Lyon’s attack but I think the Ronaldo-Dybala partnership will outlook Lyon since they are playing at home.

Final Predictions: Real Madrid Vs Juventus

Quater Final-2

It’s a fixture of attack VS defence, RB Leipzig will play against Atletico Madrid. This fixture may go one-sided with not so scoring match. Diego Simeone has just eliminated the Champions Liverpool FC. Simeone’s team is known for their quality defence and Leipzig has just lost Timo Werner to Chelsea so it would be difficult for a team when they have lost their star player. Ultimately, Atletico will proceed to the next round. 

Winner: Atletico Madrid

Quater Final-3

Barcelona will play at home against Napoli while Bayern will play home against Chelsea.

Barcelona and Napoli had 1-1 draw at Stadio San Paolo and now will play the reverse fixture at Camp Nou. We know Barcelona is a beast at Camp Nou but since restart, Barcelona looks shaky. Failed Transfers, internal problems with directors and coach and clashes with players, it’s not an ideal situation for Barcelona. They are already behind against Real Madrid in title race and now will face Napoli. On the other hand, Napoli looks a new team, they have defeated Juventus in Coppa Italia Final and are now looking as a more complete team so it would be difficult for the Catalans to defeat them. 

Bayern will against Chelsea and have already defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by a margin of 3 goals. Even though Chelsea have secured great signings like Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech but it would be really difficult for the London club to a comeback at Allianz Arena. Chelsea’s defence is shaky and fragile and can easily be exploited. They are not consistent on the other hand, Bayern have already won the Bundesliga for a record 8^th time and won the DFB Pokal Cup and have signed Leroy Sane who will line up with Gnabry and Lewondowski. Bayern already looks favourite to win the cup, so I don’t think Chelsea would able to a comeback.

Final Predictions: Bayern Munich Vs Napoli SSC

Quater Final-4

Its Attacks VS Attack fixture, Both PSG and Atlanta are doing extremely well in this campaign. PSG have a good chance to go to semi-final for the first time in their history. PSG have a good squad with Neymar, Mbappe and Mauro Icardi in the front with Keylor Navas at the back.

Though, Atlanta are doing great in UCL and Serie A but with no past experience I see PSG as an ultimate Winner unless there is an upset caused by this exciting squad.

Winner: Paris Saint-Germain

Semi-Final-1

The Semi-final 1 would be played between winner of Quarter-final 1 and Quarter-final 3.

 In quarter-final 1, I think Real Madrid will outclass Juventus due to past experience and having a great squad. Since, restart Madrid have won every La Liga game with Sergio Ramos leading the team. Their defence is already top-notch and their attack is looking strong with Benzema and Eden Hazard while Juventus may have Mr. Champions League (CR7) with them, it would be task for Juventus to knock them since, their defence is shaky and only Dybala and Ronaldo creates chances and they miss lots of opportunities in the matches.

In quarter-final 3 Bayern should outwit Napoli. Bayern have great attack in their team, their mid-field and defence are already strong while Napoli are looking strong but they don’t have in-depth squad. Napoli concede goals easily when not in form. Bayern with amazing front three will bully Napoli. Bayern are eying for the treble and they are determined to do anything, right now they are unstoppable.

Final Prediction: Real Madrid Vs Bayern Munich

Semi-Final-2

According to me, it would be contested between Paris Saint Germain and Atletico Madrid.

I think Atletico would eliminate PSG. Atletico will do the same against PSG, the way they did against Liverpool. Simeone’s team would defend really well and it would be difficult for the Parisian club to create chances while Madrid will score goal from the only chances they would create and once they get the lead, they would change form offensive game to defensive game in their classic 4-4-2 formation and would eliminate PSG.

Winner: Atletico Madrid

Final

 The Final would be played at Lisbon at Estadio Da Luz Stadium.

I think, Real Madrid would eliminate Bayern Munich because they have the experience to play in tough situations. Even though Bayern have a great attack, Zidane’s experience in this field and with a master tactics he would be able to eliminate the Bavarians from the competition. Zidane is a mastermind and a great tactician, he can easily play mind games and can read the game. On the other hand, Bayern would look for revenge and try to go in the final. It would be fun to watch the game but I think the Galaticos would eliminate the Bavarians.

So in the final it would be again the Madrid Derby just like in the 2014 season of UCL Final played at Lisbon. I think it would be a repeat of 2014 season with Real Madrid winning their 14th UCL trophy because Real attack more and they have good wingback at back. Real have already defeated Atletico in the league and in Copa Del Rey Final so Real have good chance to win the trophy and may even win their first treble if they win the league.

Winners: Real Madrid CF

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