New CL Format Thoughts

[Xhavenjoe]

PSG and Inter are the best teams in my view. As you say we had a stinker of a draw. We didn’t deserve anything though.

PSG had Arsenal and Bayern away, plus us and Atlético Madrid at home - that's a bit of a stinker too. There were definitely some tougher draws, but then we also weren't the only one of the favourites to be in unusually poor form in the first stage.

PSG had the hardest set of fixtures of all the teams
We had a relatively easy set of fixtures

 

[HarrytheBlue]

Ask Liverpool fans - top the league and end up playing PSG .

 

[noseve]

I hate Arsenal and I hope Real rips them apart. especially if they can make a fool from Gabriel and Rice.

Thankfully, they're in different parts of the pitch, so Gabriel and Rudiger shouldn't kick lumps out of each other for 210 minutes.

That would be just terrible...

 

[MCFC1993]

Ask Liverpool fans - top the league and end up playing PSG .

Which would be my argument for not taking any of the 8 group games seriously. Just get into the top 24.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

Which would be my argument for not taking any of the 8 group games seriously. Just get into the top 24.

I still think in a typical season you desperately want to avoid an extra knockout European set of games at a shite time of year.

 

[MCFC1993]

I still think in a typical season you desperately want to avoid an extra knockout European set of games at a shite time of year.

For me it depends what you're balancing it off against in the league.

If we had a big league game after a group game I'd want us to rotate in the CL. Top 24 just gives so many lifelines to teams.

 

[SamTheGuru]

Ask Liverpool fans - top the league and end up playing PSG .

Best team ever (again) may win the League and the League Cup if they hold up.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Which would be my argument for not taking any of the 8 group games seriously. Just get into the top 24.

7 of the top 12 in the league phase are now in the last 8. The 8th, PSG, were 15th.

6 from the 9 pot 1 teams are in the last 8. The 2 non-pot 1 teams through to the last 8 are Arsenal and Villa who were rewarded for finishing in the top 8 with no 2 extra games and easy L16 games ie the opposite of Liverpool who were unfortunate to get PSG.

On balance, when we go again at this, I'd 100% want us to finish in the top 8 to save playing those 2 extra games and, if unfortunate to play a top team in the last 16 at least we'd have the 2nd leg at the Etihad.

No brainer for me imo. No doubt the club would think likewise.

 

[Tevez City]

I like the new format but hate our new form.

 

[Bluekiwi]

Given the number of teams in it - rename it European League One, Europa can become League Two, and the Mickey Mouse Conference league - European Pub League

 

[Whether or not]

At the end of the day you can’t win it without beating the best teams. In 2023 we beat Bayern, Real and then Inter, that is what’s required. The scousers are whining about getting PSG, but they should have viewed it as an opportunity to get rid of them. It shouldn’t have been beyond the best team in history!

 

[Pubteam Lomas]

What I said before Christmas is that a team like Real wouldn't careless where if they finished 13th.
They'd just back themselves to win the play off game and then the competition.
Some clubs thought finishing first was worthy of a trophy.

 

[Mr Soprano]

At the end of the day you can’t win it without beating the best teams. In 2023 we beat Bayern, Real and then Inter, that is what’s required. The scousers are whining about getting PSG, but they should have viewed it as an opportunity to get rid of them. It shouldn’t have been beyond the best team in history!

Wasn’t it partially Liverpool’s fault they played PSG? If they beat PSV in that last group game, PSV and the other teams around them would’ve been placed differently and we would’ve seen a slightly different draw?

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

What I said before Christmas is that a team like Real wouldn't careless where if they finished 13th.
They'd just back themselves to win the play off game and then the competition.
Some clubs thought finishing first was worthy of a trophy.

This new format shows that there is no point in going full pelt to top the league. As long as you qualify and back yourself just like madrid have done

 

[trublue55]

Still think its pretty weird, that in a league of 36 teams, you play 8 "random" fixtures, supposedly from seeded pots. There is a world of difference between the teams various "pot 1" teams get, and even more variable depending on who you have to play away or home.
Bearing in mind it switches to a knockout cup, seems to be a very odd mix of a partial / distorted league morphing into a knockout cup.

I honestly think we had a pretty rough draw, certainly worse than the 3 other English teams, having said that WE WERE WORSE THAN POOR, certainly contributed to, by our failure to hang on to a lead, and press home a match winning advantage against Sporting, PSG, and most notably Feyenoord.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

The stats might subsequently prove me wrong, but it feels as though the removal of the "away goal" rule has had a bigger impact than the new format, resulting in more games going to a penalty shootout

It wouldn't have made any difference to PSG-Liverpool, but City have previously suffered from both systems.

Tottenham 2018-19 would have gone to penalties, but last season we would have beaten Real Madrid having scored more goals in the away leg.

I'm not suggesting that either system is better but it just feels as though more CL games will finish with penalties

Just to reinforce my point Atletico wouldn't have lost on penalties last night under the old "away goal" rule and Real would have been desperate for another goal.

That's actually made a far bigger difference than the change of format which is purely about more games and more money

Real would never have wanted to play City and then Atletico but they did and they won.

However that's no different to the original format when the favourites often exited in the Last 16 and the slow starters progressed to the Final.

 

[shemnel]

Ask Liverpool fans - top the league and end up playing PSG .

yeah, a couple of them said that to me last night.

but last season, Sociedad somehow managed to top a group with Inter and Benfica and drew PSG in the last 16 (got beat), the season before R Madrid came top and drew Liverpool (they won, but tough draw) and Porto came top and drew Inter (got beat). Happens every year.

Point is, no matter the format, 1 or 2 big teams will mess up and come lower than expected and make a hard draw for someone. I don't see that disappearing unless you go down a dodgy route of seeding teams based on 'istree etc.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

For me it depends what you're balancing it off against in the league.

If we had a big league game after a group game I'd want us to rotate in the CL. Top 24 just gives so many lifelines to teams.

For sure, it's definitely not the end of the world for the CL. In some ways, from the first season anyway, it kind of feels closer to the old straight knockout European cup but with a really tedious route to get there. I think we will end up with a wider range of winners this way.

But if you were still going strong in 2/3 domestic comps it could completely derail your season.

 

[noseve]

Which would be my argument for not taking any of the 8 group games seriously. Just get into the top 24.

Not sure about that - I wish we'd taken Feyenoord and Sporting seriously for the full 90 minutes.

Didn't realise how much I regretted going out, until watching it last night.

 

[Brunswick Blue]

When you have a midfield of attacking players whose poor old legs have gone there is only one result. Dumped out.