New Champions League format has made for entertaining matches, but 'Swiss Model' league phase has proven to be too long and lacking in real jeopardy

As soon as the longstanding Super League threat finally materialised in April 2021, UEFA knew it needed to act. Europe's richest clubs wanted more games, because more games means more money, so that's exactly what UEFA gave them in May 2022.

The initial idea was to expand the pre-knockout round to 10 games. but even after a bitter backlash from coaches, players and domestic leagues with serious concerns over an already congested international schedule, they still managed to push through a new format featuring eight matchdays - and sneak in an additional play-off round. It was a Super League in everything but name. Everyone knew it too.

"It's very good that the new Super League is off the table," a visibly bewildered Jurgen Klopp told reporters in April 2021,” but the new Champions League is not great. UEFA showed me the idea and I said, 'I don't like it.' I've no idea where [they'll] put the extra games in… But the show must go on."

It was clear that sacrifices would have to be made, but only by the organisers of domestic tournaments, such as the once-prestigious FA Cup, and, more significantly, the players.

UEFA justified its expansion by claiming that football fans wanted to see "more top European matches" - and at an earlier stage of the Champions League. However, what's the point in having more heavyweight showdowns if neither participant is in peak physical condition?

As an exasperated Pep Guardiola pointed out four years ago, "Every time we speak about [player welfare] to UEFA, they say 'We take note.' But, after, more games. It's like an actor or actress in a theatre going three times a day: they'd like to put on a good performance, but three times a day is too much."

Guardiola was right to be concerned. His Manchester City side won the treble win 2023, but are toiling this season after being decimated by injuries to key men, including Rodri, who was already threatening a players' union strike over the schedule before being sidelined with an ACL tear.

There has been little sympathy for City, but it merely reinforced the point that players are playing too many games. If one of the most expensively assembled squads in football history can reach breaking point, what hope is there for clubs who are not sponsored by a state?

City's struggles have highlighted the most glaring problem with the new Champions League format: it's far too forgiving.

Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli pushed so hard for a Super League because he was disgusted by the fact that small, well-run provincial clubs such as Atalanta could earn a seat at Europe's top table at the expense of one of the traditional superpowers.The revenue accrued from regular participation in continental competition has been the biggest distortive force in the competitiveness of European football over the past decade, the reason why the gap between the haves and the have-nots is wider than ever before.

In an ideal, fair and just world, the Champions League would be the sole preserve of actual champions - just like the European Cup used to be. But that was never good enough for the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, who realised that the real money was to be made in regular games between the teams from the biggest TV markets in Europe.

So, Super League threats were made and UEFA replied by including the top four teams from the 'Big Five' leagues and adding group stages (there were two at one point).

However, those amendments still weren't enough to satisfy ESL backers Agnelli and Florentino Perez, who wanted a closed shop to protect their profits - and the 'Swiss Model' is a product of the prioritisation of money over meritocracy, which has been quite clearly implemented to protect the big boys.

In any other year, a team that has performed as poorly as City, who have been beaten by Sporting CP, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, and held at home by Inter and Feyenoord, would already be out. But because of the nature of the supposedly "brilliant" revamp, City still only need to beat Club Brugge at home to progress to the play-off round, which is, in itself, an extra safety net introduced to spare the elite from the financial repercussions of an early European exit.

It's all so blatant that it's barely believable that the same people that criticised the Super League are now championing the expanded Champions League - particularly when the argument that it's been more exciting doesn't stand up to scrutiny at all.

For starters, the claim that the final matchdays for the past few seasons have been "borefests" is just a complete falsehood. The previous incarnation of the Champions League group stage undeniably had its issues but, just last season, Manchester United, Galatasaray and Copenhagen went into the last round of games battling for a last-16 spot - just like PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle the following night.

The latter was a bona fide 'group of death' in which every match counted because every point counted. Even the already-qualified Borussia Dortmund needed a draw against PSG at Signal Iduna Park to secure top spot. By complete contrast, so many matches this term have been stripped of almost all meaning - even those involving massive names.

PSG-City was thrilling but not the elimination match it should have been. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have lost three games apiece, but both have made it into the knockout stage nonetheless. Liverpool, meanwhile, sit top of the table after winning all seven of their games so far, and yet manager Arne Slot, just like everyone else, has no idea whether it's in any way significant because of the unfair fixture list.

"It's such a strange league table because if I look at Paris Saint-Germain, for example, every week I think they have the hardest team to face," the Dutchman pointed out. "So, they are quite low on the table, which is not a reflection of their quality, so even if you end up No.1, you could play them. [In that case, finishing first] is a disadvantage."

Liverpool's only real reward for guaranteeing a top-two finish is that they'll avoid the play-offs. Two fewer fixtures - that's how UEFA incentivised finishing in the top eight, which is an accidental admission that there are too many games. They're effectively saying, 'Your reward for doing well is avoiding additional punishment.'

So, maybe the final round will be exciting, but that's not even the point. Whatever happens on Wednesday, it simply has to be acknowledged that it's taken far, far too long to reach this point - and with a jarring lack of jeopardy to boot.

Last season, half of the 32 participants were eliminated from the Champions League after a group stage featuring 96 games. By the close of play on Wednesday, we'll have gone through 144 games to eliminate just 12 teams. It's lunacy and simply cannot be justified by citing exciting games such as PSG-City and Barcelona-Benfica.

We've seen countless great group games in the past and also a number of high-profile eliminations. In the last five years alone, both Barcelona and Inter have twice failed to reach the last 16. This year, we might see one of City or PSG knocked out - but don't count on it. It's far more likely that every 'elite' team in the tournament will finish in the top 24.

Of course, it doesn't matter if the Champions League is predictable, or that it's become even more punishing for players, meaning the appeal and quality of the games will suffer eventually. As Carlo Ancelotti said before this season's tournament had even got under way, "It might prove more entertaining than last year, but if the governing bodies and decision-makers don't think that players get injured because they play too much, we have a problem. I would ask them to think about reducing the number of matches in order to have more attractive tournaments."

Nobody will listen, obviously. There's money to be made. The show must go on. And hey, at least the final round could be fun...