UEFA Champions League Fixtures: Match-day 1

The UEFA Champions league continues on the 17th of September with a new look and new format competition that has been unveiled to the public in previous seasons. 36 teams will compete in a Swiss model with the top 24 progressing to the Knock-out phase of the competition. Match day one features some world class clashes to wet the appetite. This is what we can expect from the UEFA Champions League's Match Day One. 

New Format

The previous Champions League format included group stage that had 32 participants divided into eight groups of four. From the 2024/25 season (this season), 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (former group stage), giving four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe. Those 36 clubs will participate in a single league competition in which all 36 competing clubs are ranked together.

Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (former group stage). They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away. The results of each match will decide the overall ranking in the new league, with three points for a win and one for a draw still applying.

The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League.

In the knockout phase, the teams that finish between 9th and 16th will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw, meaning they will face a team placed 17th to 24th – with, in principle, the return leg at home. The eight clubs which prevail in the knockout phase play-offs will then progress to the round of 16, where they will each face one of the top-eight finishers, who will be seeded in the round of 16.

Match of the Round

Tuesday - 17 September 2024 Milan vs Liverpool

One of the UEFA Champions League's most iconic matches, featuring two of its most successful teams. Milan who have won 7 Champions Leagues while Liverpool themselves have been crowned the champions of Europe on 6 ocassions titles to date. These two teams are also responsible of the UEFA Champions League's most iconic final. The 2005 UEFA Champions league Final will always be remembered for Steven Gerrard's Heroics and Liverpools comeback. The match was dubbed "the miracle of Istanbul' by fans and pundits.

These two teams would meet again in the final of the 2007 UEFA Champions League. That match wouldn't be as dramatic as the 2005 final, Milan walked away as 2-1 victors. This victory however, would be Milan's last UEFA Champions League title to date, Liverpool would go on to win the 2018/19 final against Tottenham Hotspurs.

Since the 2007 final, Liverpool has not lost to Milan across all competitions. They met in the Group stages of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League. Liverpool won both games comfortably with both teams on the score sheet. Milan has also gone 7 games without a clean sheet against Liverpool, which is worrisome for the Italian side. 5 out of the last 7 meetings between these two teams have ended with both teams on the score sheet and more than 2,5 goals scored. This fixture has also been very disciplined with the last 7 meetings producing less than 4,5 cards.

I expect this game will produce goals from both sides. Players like Noah Okafor, Christian Pulisic will cause Liverpools defence a head ache. Milan will be worried about Liverpool's front three of Diaz, Jota and Salah. They will be especially worried about Mo Salah who has 5 goal contributions in 5 matches against Milan. To make matters worse, he has never lost to Milan, with four wins and one draw against them. Positive signs for Liverpool but, anything can happen under the floodlights at the San Siro on Tuesday evening.

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