FTA highlights on the BBC. Champions League highlights to be shown on the BBC starting from this season
Match by match highlights in iPlayer sounds good to me. There's no chance they show all highlights in the tv show, there's 18 matches every match week
Top two pots already determined: Pot 1 - Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona Pot 2 - Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shaktar Donetsk, AC Milan
Knuckledraggers on Huns forums up here complaining that they are at a disadvantage in Europe because of the amount of Roman Catholic referees. Also a lot of good wishes being sent to Vladimir Putin in the hope that Ukraine is bombed into oblivion.
Another significant change is that the days of 3/4 of the teams surviving to some knockout phase (1/2 to CL, 1/4 drop-down to EL) are over. It should thus be easier to win the EL. (Same applies for Conf League, no drop-downs from EL.)
I think that gets a unanimous thumbs up from the footballing world. If you're out of Europe, you're out. End of.
I only went back to check last year’s CL drop-downs. Only 2 of the 8 CL 3rd-place-in-group teams defeated an EL 2nd-place-in-group team in the so-called EL “Knockout Round Playoff”. So not as big an effect as it could have been. Probably bigger success from the drop-down teams in earlier seasons. Those two from last year’s CL: AC Milan and Benfica, both won their EL round-of-16, but both then lost in their EL quarterfinals. I wonder if this year’s CL round-of-32 between the teams finishing 9th thru 24th will be called “knockout round”, or “knockout round playoff” or something else. It’s do-or-die either way, but the loser doesn’t drop-down to live at the lower level.
Many doubts about the new format, but I definitely like this part. It's like an old PC game. If you die, you start over. No auto-saves or check points.
Fenerbache (managed by Mourinho) was also dumped out in the previous round. Bad showing from Turkey this year. Keeping an eye on Bodo/Glimt. They carry a 2-1 lead to Red Star tonight. Would be their first ever time in the group stages of the CL I believe. Promoted in 2018, have since won the league three times under manager Knutsen. Famously beat Jose Mourinho's Roma 6-1 in 2021.
Tricky one. As a club they'll want to be in the Champions League but they'll do better in the Europa League. Young Boys go through, get a payday and some glamour ties but they're just there to make up the numbers really.
I think for those sides like Young Boys, in the new format, they can at least aim for 24th and will have games against other low seeded sides which may give them a chance of doing it. They have also, for whatever reason, been seeded as a pot 3 side.
That was partly my point about making up the numbers though. Even if they finish in that top 24, there's still a ceiling for that calibre of club. You're arguably better enjoying the Europa League where you'll still face some decent sides but might do something. Galatasaray will want to be in the Champions League for the prestige, money etc but they'll be better off in terms of competitiveness in the Europa League.
Coefficiency still determines what pot you go into. Also being a champion in your league in a top league doesn't give you an automatic place in pot 1 anymore so Leverkusen will be in pot 2 this year, PSV will be Pot 3 and Sporting will also be Pot 3. They all would have been pot 1 teams last year. As well as Atalanta who won the Europa League. This year, pot 2.
