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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has hit out at this season’s new Champions League format in the wake of the first edition of the ‘league phase’ coming to a close this week.
UEFA has overhauled its premier club competition this season, scrapping the group stage in favour of a single league table and increasing the number of pre-knockout fixtures from six to eight.
“Too many matches,” was the response Ancelotti gave to reporters on Wednesday night when asked for his assessment on the new league phase format.
Ancelotti denied the increased demand has had a disproportionately negative impact on Madrid specifically, but reiterated a longstanding view that elite football needs fewer games.
“There have been too many, but for everyone,” he said. “And, at this moment in football, we have to remove matches, not add more. That’s my opinion.”
In previous seasons, the top two teams in each group qualified for the last 16. This time around, only the top eight in the league phase were guaranteed a place in that round. The next 16 finishers, which includes Madrid after several disappointing results, first must navigate a two-legged play-off instead.
It adds even more matches to the schedule. To reach the final again this season, Madrid will have had to play four more times than they did in 2023/24. The final would be a 17th Champions League game for them this season, compared to it being the 13th last season.
The new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup still lies ahead of Madrid in the summer, extending the club season into July. FIFA also added the Intercontinental Cup to the calendar in December.
When UEFA increased the number of Champions League entrants from 24 to 32 in 1999, a second group stage was created that added six additional games for the competing clubs, up to 17 in total for the finalists. The replacement of the second group stage with the last 16 in 2003 significantly reduced the demands and automatically took four games out of the schedule. But, 21 years later, UEFA decided once again that more football, despite the calls against it, was the way to go.
Due to their placing in the league phase, 11th, Madrid have a 50/50 chance of facing perennial foes Manchester City in the knockout play-off round. But Ancelotti isn’t actually too bothered about that, acknowledging that to win the competition, it is necessary to face the biggest sides at some point regardless, whether it be later down the line or in the immediate future.
“There will be a draw and whatever comes, comes. Not much changes: to win the Champions League, you have to beat the biggest teams,” he said.
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