The competition will see a huge change in its format this season and there are Premier League clubs that could benefit
Ange Postecoglou (left) and Mauricio Pochettino could see their sides handed a lifeline by UEFA
With the Premier League season back underway, those towards the top half of the table will be valiantly fighting for their place in the coveted ‘top four’ in order to secure qualification to the Champions League – European football’s most prestigious club competition.
It’s been a staple in English football for what now feels like forever – finish in the top four and you get your chance on the biggest stage for the biggest trophy. Of course, there have been exceptions over the years – Liverpool winning the competition in 2005 meant the Premier League were given five teams in the competition, while La Liga was the first league to ever have five clubs make the group stage in 2016.
And after Manchester City lifted the UCL for the first time in their club’s history last season, an English club go into the competition as holders for the second time in the past three years.
However, that is all about to change – possibly. Clubs in England might now only need to finish in the top five in order to qualify for the comeptition, something which’ll no doubt be a huge benefit to teams like Chelsea and Tottenham who are on the rise from last season’s 12th and eighth-placed finishes respectively.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is adamant that the decision to reformat the competition is the right one, and that it will “still keep alive the dream of any team in Europe”.
“Our model is based on sporting merit,” Ceferin said when the model was announced back in 2021. “Where we come from, merit has no price. Merit can’t be claimed, and merit can’t be acquired.
“It can only be earned. Season by season. On and off the pitch. There’s no room for cartels on this continent. I think we have made that clear, all together.”
How does the new Champions League format work?
The Champions League will now go from 32 spots to 36 with the group stage of the competition being completely scrapped in favour of a new single league-style system.
Every club is now guaranteed four home matches and four away matches against eight different opponents, of which the choices are randomly selected as opposed to the usual six group stage games.
The clubs that finish within the top eight of the league will automatically qualify for the knockout stages while teams that place ninth to 24th in the league system will pay in a two-legged play-off final to determine whether they make it into the knockouts or not.
What league gets the additional places?
There are four additional places up for grabs using the new system.
One of the four places will go to the third-ranked club in the championship of the association in fifth position in the UEFA national association ranking while another is handed to a domestic champion by extending the number of clubs qualifying for the competition from four to five via the so-called ‘Champions Path’.
The final two places will go to the associations with the best collective performance by their clubs in the previous season (total number of points obtained divided by the number of participating clubs). This means that in last season’s competition, Liverpool and Atalanta would’ve qualified for finishing fifth in their respective domestic leagues based on the collective finishing places of English and Italian teams.
Will the format impact the Premier League and other domestic leagues?
The format will likely impact teams’ domestic seasons heavily due to the possible need of playing four extra ‘group’ games, with the extra two playoff-final games potentially needed if teams finish between ninth and 24th.
The competition will now go from 125 games to 225 in total, meaning it’s not just the Premier League which’ll be heavily affected. Players in the past have argued that there are already enough competitions to play at the top level – with much discussion taking place around the timing of last year’s winter World Cup in the middle of the European season due to it taking place in Qatar.
If the Premier League is given five Champions League places, will the Europa Conference League qualification spot go down to eighth?
If the domestic competitions that hand out Champions League places are won by clubs or the same club that finish in the top seven, yes. This means that there could be eight Premier League teams with European campaigns next season.
With more and more clubs gaining on the so-called ‘Big Six’ teams, additional places for European football qualification could be a reprieve for those that struggle to keep up with the competition.
Chelsea faced their worst ever Premier League season last year and while they’re sure to bounce back under Mauricio Pochettino and his revitalised squad, the knowledge of extra places will bring comfort to fans.
Similarly to Liverpool last season, Tottenham would’ve also been handed a spot in the ECL due to them finishing in eighth and Manchester United winning the Carabao Cup and Manchester City winning the FA Cup.
Soucre: football.london
