The first season of the revamped UEFA Champions League format concluded last night. Among the 18 games played, four English clubs were in action.
It was a good night for the Premier League teams in the Champions League last night, as all four English clubs made it through to the knockout rounds in this new format for the 2024/25 season.
Despite losing their winning streak on the night in a 3-2 loss to Feyenoord, Liverpool topped the table with 21 points.
Arsenal were not far behind in third position in the table, edging past Girona 2-1 last night, with on loan Bournemouth keeper Neto getting a rare start for the Gunners.
An impressive Aston Villa made it into the top 8 on their return to the Champions League, after a Morgan Rodgers hattrick saw Villa beat Celtic.
Manchester City were the team that managed to scrape through in 22nd, after coming from behind to scrape through to the playoffs.
How the new format works.
The teams placed 1st-8th are automatically through to the round of 16. While the teams placed 9th-24th (like Manchester City) have to compete in two-legged fixtures in order to progress to the round of 16.
Teams 9th-16th will be faced up against teams placed 17th-24th.
Teams below 24th are already eliminated.
What we can expect for British sides.
There is a chance Liverpool and Aston Villa could meet in the quarter-finals if they both win their last-16 ties.
Arsenal could meet Celtic or Manchester City in that round too.
But all of those depend on which way the last-16 draw goes. It is also possible British teams could meet in the semis or final.
All should become clearer after 21 February when the draws for the last-16 onwards are made.
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