"Let's start with the basics. Last season marked the first time in 21 years that we'd had a format change for Europe's top club competition. For the previous 21 seasons, 32 teams qualified and were drawn into eight groups of four. The top two teams went through to the round of 16, with third-place dropping into the UEFA Cup/Europa League and fourth-place eliminated from Europe entirely."
"It's no longer possible to drop into the Europa League from the Champions League (or into the Conference League from the Europa League). Once you're out, you're out. From the knockout phase playoffs onwards, the competition retains its two-legged format through to the semifinals, with a traditional one-legged final, but with limited draws -- more on that later. When will the games be played?"
The Champions League now features a 36-team single-league "League Phase" replacing the previous 32-team, eight-group format. All clubs appear in one combined league table and play eight fixtures, four at home and four away. Teams finishing 1–8 qualify directly for the round of 16. Teams finishing 9–24 enter knockout-phase playoffs in February to compete for additional round-of-16 spots. Teams finishing 25–36 are eliminated in January. No team drops into the Europa League or Conference League from the Champions League. Knockout ties are two-legged through the semifinals, with a one-legged final. Match windows include fixtures at 17:45 UK/12:45 ET and 20:00 UK/15:00 ET.
Read at ESPN.com
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