Love it, hate it or somewhere in between, the League Phase of the Champions League is here to stay. 36 teams are half-way through their eight-game League Phase campaigns and the 72 matches have certainly delivered so far.
Even though Europe's best clubs are no longer competing in small groups, there's still plenty of ferocity and intent about all 36 teams. Whilst the fixture congestion this format will likely cause has yet to really come into effect, the League Phase has at least been entertaining so far.
Huge games between some of the biggest clubs in the world have already delighted half-way through the League Phase. Barcelona got revenge on Bayern Munich, thrashing the Germans 4 - 1 in what was arguably the biggest shock so far.
Inter Milan held out for a 0 - 0 draw with Manchester City in a repeat of the 2023 final, and in a more dramatic repeat of a recent final, Real Madrid staged an astonishing comeback to beat Borussia Dortmund 5 - 2 having been 2 - 0 down at the hour mark.
Vinicius Jr. arguably produced the best individual performance of the tournament so far in that game, netting a hat-trick in the comeback win.
There have been some surprise packages as well; Liverpool are the only team in the current top four who were in Pot 1 or 2 for the League Phase draw.
Sporting CP, Monaco and Brest make up the rest of the top four having recorded three wins and a draw each; Italian Champions Inter Milan have the same record in 5th.
That being said, there must be some precaution to the way the table is viewed; whilst it is important to have points of the board at the half-way stage, some sides have faced far more difficult fixtures than others, with kinder second halves to come for the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal.
So with four rounds still to go, what are the main talking points and what might the table look like at the end of this new League Phase? The below breakdown looks at the League Phase league by league.
England
Any conversation about this new format has to start with Liverpool. Despite arguably being a little fortunate running into AC Milan and RB Leipzig while both were out of form, there's no arguing with the Reds' results, which also include a 2 - 0 win at home to Bologna.
Arne Slot, in his first three months on the job, has got Liverpool into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and top of the Premier League, as well as being the only side to win their opening four matches in the League Phase.
Not too much was thought of this after three rounds, not only because their fixtures weren't the toughest but also because other sides looked just as strong.
But after the manor in which Liverpool capitalised on a late collapse by Bayer Leverkusen to beat the Germans 4 - 0, more respect has been rightfully assigned to Liverpool's brilliant start in the Champions League.
The fixtures do however get tougher for Arne Slot's side, with games against Real Madrid and PSV still to come. Securing a top eight spot should be fairly straightforward though with easier matches against Girona and Lille breaking up the two heavyweight clashes.
Premier League rivals Manchester City and Arsenal are still in a strong position too. Whilst both have recorded just seven points from their first four games, last season's title contenders have played their most difficult games already.
Manchester City were thrashed by Sporting CP on Tuesday in Ruben Amorim's final home game before joining rivals United, whilst Arsenal lost 1 - 0 to Italian Champions Inter. I Nerrazurri also earned a hard-fought point at the Etihad earlier in the campaign.
As well as having played Inter, Arsenal drew 0 - 0 with Atalanta, a result which will be considered a positive one if the Gunners can avoid defeat in the second half of their League Phase campaign.
The Gunners also brushed PSG aside in impressive fashion, easing to a 2 - 0 win in North London.
While Arsenal still have to go to Portugal to face Sporting, they will do so without Amorim at the helm, making it a slightly less daunting task than the one City faced on Tuesday night.
Manchester City do still face a big test in a trip to Juventus next month, but with Paris Saint Germain desperately struggling for form in the Champions League, the other three games look fairly straightforward for the former European Champions.
Speaking of former European Champions, Aston Villa got off to a flyer on their long-awaited debut in the Champions League (it was still the European Cup when Villa last played in 1982). The Villains thrashed Young Boys 3 - 0 before stunning Bayern Munich 1 - 0 at Villa Park to make it six points from six.
The good form continued with a comfortable victory against Bologna, but Unai Emery's side stuttered in defeat to Club Brugge. It's been this inconsistency that has halted momentum in the Premier League for Villa, and if it were to creep into their Champions League campaign they may struggle to maintain their earlier outstanding form.
A spot in the play-off places wouldn't be a bad result for Villa, especially if they can finish between 9th and 16th to gain a seeded place in the first knockout round. But given how brilliantly they started and the professional manor in which they beat Bayern Munich, Emery's side shouldn't be aiming for anything short of a top eight finish.
Spain
In eight of the previous eleven seasons, the Champions League has been won by a Spanish team. In seven of those seasons, that Spanish team has been Real Madrid.
This season it hasn't been such plain sailing for the Spanish clubs however, especially the 15-time European Champions.
Real Madrid had a nervy start with an uncomfortable win over Stuttgart in what was the German's first Champions League game for over 14 years; they then lost 1 - 0 to Lille in France.
A dire first half against Borussia Dortmund was turned into something exceptional in true Real Madrid style the week after however.
Dortmund took a 2 - 0 lead into the break at the Bernabeu before Madrid, inspired by Vinicius Jr., came back to win 5 - 2, with the Brazilian star netting a game-changing hat-trick.
The same could not be achieved on Matchday 4 however.
AC Milan started fast in the Spanish capital, but even after Vinicius Jr. equalised from the spot, the Italian side roared into a 3 - 1 lead and took a famous win, leaving Real Madrid 18th in the Champions League table.
Atletico Madrid have the same record as their city rivals with two wins and two defeats.
Whilst their outlook will be more positive having stunned PSG with a late winner this week, Atletico have had disappointing defeats of their own, losing 3 - 1 to Lille and being thrashed 4 - 0 by Benfica.
Both Madrid sides still face demanding fixtures too, with Real Madrid facing leaders Liverpool, Europa League Champions Atalanta and high-flying Brest in their remaining fixtures. Atletico still have to face a surprise package of their own in Sparta Prague as well as Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.
With the other Spanish sides it's very much opposite stories. Girona have been somewhat hopeless in the Champions League so far.
The debutants did manage a 2 - 0 win at home to Slovan Bratislava, who are last in the table, but realistically haven't shown the quality required to compete for a place in the knockout stages.
Girona have already scored a record-equalling four own goals in the League Phase and may well find themselves in more trouble before the end of the League Phase with games against Liverpool, AC Milan and Arsenal still to come.
Barcelona on the other hand have recovered well from their opening defeat to Monaco. It's worth noting Hansi Flick's side had to play the majority of that game with 10 men, and have won all three European fixtures where they've kept all 11 players on the pitch.
That run of course includes a 4 - 1 pummelling of rivals Bayern Munich and even though that was largely down to Bayern's poor display, it's a confidence boost either way for the Catalans.
Barca have also been paying attention to UEFA's videos about the new format, as they've taken goal difference seriously. Given that it's impossible to finish on 23 points, there are 24 different possible points tallies for teams to finish on; there are 36 teams.
The 5 - 0 win over Young Boys and Wednesday's 5 - 2 success away to Red Star Belgrade have given Barcelona a goal difference of +10, the best in the competition.
It's a good job that Barcelona have built this foundation however, as three of their final four games are against Brest, Dortmund and Atalanta; all of these teams are currently in the top nine.
Germany
As part of the new Champions League format, Germany earned an extra automatic spot in the League Phase by having the best European performance last season. So far this season, it looks something of a miracle they achieved it.
Borussia Dortmund are the only German side in the top twelve let alone the top eight. In fairness to last season's runners-up their only dropped points were away to Real Madrid, who beat them in the 2024 final.
Aside from that defeat, Dortmund have beaten Sturm Graz, Celtic and Club Brugge with a combined goal difference of +7; they still have +4 after their 5 - 2 defeat in Spain.
Dortmund's remaining fixtures aren't too difficult; they face Barcelona on Matchday Six but their other three matches against Dinamo Zagreb, Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk shouldn't be too difficult.
While Dortmund seem to be storming towards a top eight finish, their rivals certainly aren't on the same track. Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen have both suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Barcelona and Liverpool respectively.
Bayern were stunned at Villa Park, losing 1 - 0 to Jhon Duran's winner for Aston Villa despite having 17 shots and 70% of possession; Leverkusen had a similarly frustrating trip to Brest but came away with a point.
The difference for these sides in the second half of the League Phase however is in their remaining fixtures. Bayern Munich face a potentially tough game against PSG, but if form is anything to go by this would be their most straightforward game remaining.
Bayer Leverkusen however have to play Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, as well as taking on a Sparta Prague side who have been very promising so far.
The League Phase has been even more difficult for RB Leipzig and Stuttgart.
Even though Stuttgart have four points, they barely scraped a 1 - 0 win away to 10-man Juventus and dropped points in what should've been a comfortable win at home to Sparta Prague.
That being said, Stuttgart have very kind fixtures over the next few weeks. They play Red Star, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava before hosting PSG, and with four points already on the board, they may well get away with their poor performances so far.
Leipzig have arguably been hard done by with very difficult fixtures; they've already had to play Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Juventus, but then lost again away to Celtic.
Somehow, in this supposedly balanced fixture list, the Bulls still have to play Inter Milan, Aston Villa and Sporting CP. It looks daunting for Marco Rose's team, who have lost all four matches so far and have a goal difference of -5.
Italy
Like the German clubs, Italy have five clubs in this season's League Phase. Unlike the German clubs, they seem to be making it worthwhile.
The exception to the largely successful start the Italian teams have enjoyed has been Bologna; the Champions League debutants have been blown away by the likes of Liverpool and Aston Villa, taking just a single point from a dull draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
While Bologna are yet to score, both Inter and Atalanta have still not conceded. Both sides managed to draw 0 - 0 with Premier League title contenders in Manchester City and Arsenal, whilst Inter produced a stunning defensive display to beat Arsenal 1 - 0.
Inter have looked convincing in all of their previous games, never being troubled by City and easily beating Red Star and Young Boys. Despite Arsenal dominating the second half at San Siro, Inter fended the Gunners off to secure ten points from four games.
Atalanta have been almost as strong, finding themselves just two points behind Inter. A 0 - 0 draw with Celtic is a blemish on their otherwise strong record, having held Arsenal and beaten both Stuttgart and Shakhtar.
Juventus and Milan have been a little more hit and miss, with seven and six points respectively.
Milan started their season poorly in all competitions, including defeats to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. They've made an impressive recovery however, beating Club Brugge at the San Siro before producing an outstanding display to stun Real Madrid, winning 3 - 1 at the Bernabeu.
This outstanding result underlines Milan's long tradition of fantastic European results; it would frankly be foolish to bet against such a storied Champions League team, especially given that they've already played their most difficult matches.
Juventus stuttered on Matchday 3 with their 1 - 0 defeat the Stuttgart; it was also the second time they'd been reduced to 10-men in the League Phase.
A remarkable 3 - 2 win at Leipzig while a player short wasn't to be repeated against Stuttgart, but with Dusan Vlahovic's penalty salvaging a point against Lille, the Old Lady are in a promising position to qualify for the last 16.
The next two fixtures bring tough Premier League opponents in Aston Villa and Manchester City, but the final two games against Club Brugge and Juventus should be more comfortable. Juve should be safe in terms of avoiding elimination, but will likely need to pull off some fantastic results against Premier League sides in order to make the top eight.
France
Perhaps the biggest surprise so far in the League Phase has been the form of the Ligue 1 clubs.
The only French club who usually make an impression on the Champions League are PSG, but the French champions have faltered so far.
A last-gasp winner from Angel Correa handed Atletico Madrid all three points against Les Parisiens, while PSG were well beaten by Arsenal in North London.
Even in their 1 - 1 draw with PSV and late 1 - 0 win against Girona, the Ligue 1 Champions were far from convincing. It's fair to say they haven't had a good performance in this season's Champions League as they reel from the loss of Kylian Mbappe.
The rest of the French sides have completely flipped the script, enjoying wonderful European results so far.
Monaco and Brest sit third and fourth, having taken ten points each, with Monaco stunning Barcelona and Brest securing a point against Bayer Leverkusen.
Their other results haven't been against wonderful opposition, but neither side can do better than beating the teams in front of them.
Whilst Brest face the challenge of Barcelona, they'll welcome a huge test having started their first-ever European campaign in fine form.
Monaco have a far more difficult fixture list to come; the 2017 semi-finalists will return to the site of one of the brilliant victories they had on that run as they go to the Emirates to face Arsenal.
Games against Aston Villa and Inter Milan also await Le Rocher in their remaining games. But even if they were to lose all four from now until January, they'd likely still make it into the play-off round.
The real surprise from France though has been Lille. Having had to battle through qualifiers to make the League Phase, Bruno Genesio's side were well beaten by Sporting in their opening games.
Since then however, Lille's form has been outstanding.
The run started with a 1 - 0 win over Real Madrid courtesy of a Jonathan David penalty and continued with an even more impressive 3 - 1 win at the Wanda Metropolitano against Atletico.
Despite not taking all three points against Juventus on Matchday Four, Lille have very much been underdogs in all four of their matches so far, so coming away with seven points is nothing short of outstanding.
Aside from a trip to Anfield in January to face so-far perfect Liverpool, Lille's fixtures become slightly kinder in the second half of the League Phase. Having entered as a side not given much hope of even making the play-off round, Genesio has guided his side to the cusp of securing a bumper European run.
Sporting CP
Of the sides who are outside the top five leagues, Sporting stick out in a very positive way.
Viktor Gyokeres alone has outscored 13 Champions League sides, while Sporting are one of just five sides with ten or more points after four games.
Having started with a straightforward 2 - 0 win over Lille, the Portugese Champions went from strength to strength, drawing a tough away game 1 - 1 with PSV before outclassing Sturm Graz in Austria in a 2 - 0 win.
The real show of power however was in their stunning 4 - 1 win over Premier League Champions Manchester City. Gyokeres was at his brilliant best, netting a hat-trick, as City were made to look ordinary for the first time in Guardiola's reign.
Sporting's season does of course become far more difficult now with the departure of title-winning manager Ruben Amorim. With Arsenal up next in what will be just the second game after Amorim's departure, Sporting will have a point to prove in order to secure a spot in the top eight, something their opening four performances have certainly warranted.
The League Phase may add to fixture congestion, especially in countries where there is no winter break, but there's no denying that it's been a blockbuster tournament so far. After four fantastic Matchdays, we can only hope for more of the same in December and January.
Comments