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The revamped Champions League’s new league section reached an exciting climax on Wednesday night time – and what a night we had.

Manchester Metropolis seemed like they had been heading out of the competitors altogether at half-time of their match towards Membership Brugge.

In the meantime, Aston Villa had been in an actual scrap towards Celtic earlier than they secured a spot within the coveted top-eight locations and an automated spot within the final 16.

With the play-offs subsequent, BBC Sport appears at what has labored, what hasn’t, and the way Uefa’s high membership event has formed up to date.

Extra pleasure and jeopardy?

Going into the ultimate group video games final time period, 13 groups had already secured qualification for the final 16.

However this season, solely Liverpool and Barcelona had been assured a spot within the final 16 – gained by ending within the high eight locations within the league.

So with 27 groups nonetheless having one thing on the road an thrilling finale to the league section was anticipated.

And it lived as much as its billing, with Metropolis one of many large tales, as they got here from behind to win 3-1, lower than two years on from being topped European champions.

Elsewhere, Barcelona missed the prospect to complete high after , and report 15-time winners Actual Madrid had been solely capable of end eleventh.

AC Milan had been diminished to 10 males as their hopes of a spot within the high eight had been dashed by a Dinamo Zagreb aspect combating, however finally failing, to achieve the play-offs.

“This new format, persons are cut up. It’s good, is not it? We have now gone all the way down to the wire,” stated former Celtic and Blackburn ahead Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Stay.

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, added: “It was their [Uefa’s] dream on Wednesday night time. All the things on the road, somebody like Manchester Metropolis had been on the sting of being eradicated.

“For them to be probably going out of the competitors brings that curiosity for the following spherical, the play-off.”

By making a format the place groups performed eight completely different opponents in a league stage that culminated with 64 objectives within the remaining 18 matches, Uefa decision-makers will maybe really feel they succeeded in eradicating emotions of the early phases being repetitive at occasions.

And talking on TNT Sports activities, former Scotland and Rangers striker Ally McCoist, added: “It was a bit bit chaotic at occasions as a result of there have been objectives getting into in all places.

“I do not suppose I’d be capable to watch simply the one recreation in my home, on my couch, ever once more. It was sensational.”

Or was it a drawn-out affair?

To counter that argument, the outdated group stage provided residence and away matches towards three opponents, with the rivalry that would ship.

Uefa’s hopes of making certain each recreation counted on this format has largely been met, however its acknowledged goal of a loss or win within the remaining match making the distinction between reaching the final 16 or being eradicated didn’t come to fruition.

Younger Boys and Slovan Bratislava had been resigned to their destiny for a while previous to Wednesday, having misplaced their first seven video games.

Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Pink Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz and Salzburg additionally discovered themselves with out something to play for and, in contrast to in earlier years, there is no such thing as a comfort prize of Europa League soccer for anybody leaving the Champions League.

By the point the league section ended 144 matches had taken place versus the 96 performed 12 months in the past.

And regardless of the inclusion of 4 further sides and 48 extra fixtures, simply 12 golf equipment have truly dropped out.

With one other 16 video games in a play-off knockout spherical to comply with, some argue it seems like an extended and drawn out course of to get to the enterprise finish of the competitors.

“It doesn’t matter what occurred, you’re nonetheless going to have the large hitters afterward within the competitors,” added former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock on BBC Radio 5 Stay.

Former England midfielder Izzy Christiansen added: “I am not offered on this new format but. I would like a season to get my head round it, to really feel it out and make my judgement.

“There are professionals and cons. I’m a sucker for the outdated format I watched rising up, the teams of 4, the house and away video games, going into the spherical of 16, quarter-finals and so forth.”

Within the occasion of a group competing within the play-offs happening to win the Champions League, they are going to have performed 17 main-draw video games in whole, up 4 from final season.

Glamour video games ship

In a repeat of the 2023 remaining, Metropolis hosted Inter Milan within the opening spherical of fixtures in September, whereas AC Milan welcomed Liverpool.

Actual Madrid, Juventus, Barca, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain, Arsenal and Villa had been additionally concerned in loads of glamourous matches.

And it’s troublesome to recollect many, except for that didn’t ship drama, a bucket load of objectives, or each.

Whereas Actual thrashed Dortmund 5-2 in a repeat of their assembly at Wembley final June, in addition they misplaced 2-0 and 3-1 to Liverpool and Milan respectively.

Barca got here out the fitting aspect of nine-goal and five-goal thrillers towards Benfica and Dortmund, whereas additionally defeating Bayern 4-1, and 13 objectives had been scored in Metropolis’s defeats by Sporting, Juventus and PSG.

With extra video games total, there are additionally extra alternatives for people to make their mark.

Stars like Erling Haaland (47 objectives in his Champions League profession) and Kylian Mbappe (51 objectives), will goal to shut in on milestones set over an extended interval by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo – the competitors’s all-time main scorer with 141 objectives – and Lionel Messi (129 objectives).

Selection and aggressive stability?

The brand new system was additionally meant to supply a larger aggressive stability between all of the groups, with the chance for every to play opponents of an analogous stage all through the league section.

However that in itself introduced a number of contradictions, as did the seedings.

Villa’s victory over Bayern got here at a time once they had been simply 4 factors off the highest of the Premier League.

It introduced the case that some pot-four sides had been maybe simply as robust as golf equipment two gradings above them.

But others like pot three’s Younger Boys, who’re perennial strugglers within the competitors and toiling domestically in Switzerland this season, might make a compelling argument that their fixture record provided far sterner checks than others confronted. Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atalanta had been amongst their opposition.

Previous editions of the event would even have offered Dinamo Zagreb, for instance, with the chance to avenge their 9-2 humbling at Bayern Munich on residence soil.

There’s additionally one thing odd a couple of league wherein the variety of factors scored is used to rank sides regardless of golf equipment solely encountering 20% of their potential opponents.

Followers and gamers hit with congested fixture record

Including two fixtures per membership to this stage of the competitors delivers extra income for Uefa and collaborating groups.

Nonetheless, it additionally means becoming extra video games in an already-congested schedule and a rise within the carbon footprint concerned in attending to them.

Followers additionally face further journey prices, when ticket worth will increase are additionally a with Villa after a backlash from supporters earlier within the marketing campaign.

The enlargement of the Champions League has additionally arrived throughout a interval wherein a 32-team Membership World Cup competitors has been bolted on to the calendar this summer season.

World gamers union Fifpro, which is a part of a authorized motion towards world governing physique Fifa, has revealed a report elevating its issues round participant welfare, whereas numerous stars, like Spain and Manchester Metropolis midfielder Rodri, have stated gamers are being positioned on them.

Former Arsenal and France ahead Thierry Henry and ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher have that modern-day gamers are being “being handled like cattle” and “run into the bottom”.

Watch highlights of each Champions League recreation from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport web site and app.

There will even be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.