The 2024-25 edition of UEFA continental competitions saw a drastic change in how matches were conducted from September through January. In previous years, the Champions League and Europa League – in addition to the Conference League since its inception – used a standard approach for a group phase. 32 teams would be split into eight groups of four, with the teams in each group playing home-and-away against each other.

This year, not only were there 36 teams at this stage of each competition, it was a one-group setup with each club playing eight opponents selected at random.

And after one go-round of the concept, plain and simple, consider me a fan.

There are many reasons why I found this setup better than the old group stage, but one big factor was that qualification places were still up for grabs in the final matchdays. With the old groups, it wasn’t uncommon for teams to secure qualification to the knockout rounds with games to spare. Matchday 6 – and in some cases even Matchday 5 – would consist of teams fielding reserve players; a great experience for the athletes, but lacking in interest from the fans. With the league phase, only Liverpool in the Champions League could truly afford to rest its first-team contributors in Matchday 8, with the other clubs having plenty both gain and lose.

Another positive was having a more diverse group of clubs with a legitimate chance to move up the table, instead of the same old heavy-hitters. Take Aston Villa, for example, who was in Pot 4 of the Champions League due to the coefficient rankings. In the group stage, Villa would have been burdened with a tough draw, with likelier hopes of finishing 3rd and going to the Europa League instead of advancing. In the league phase, yes they faced fellow European Cup winners Bayern Munich and Juventus, but they also played winnable games against Bologna, RB Leipzig, and Celtic. As a result of taking each matchday seriously, Villa finished in the top eight of the table, automatically qualifying for the Round of 16.

It must be said that it was also entertaining to watch big clubs struggle until the final matchday, like Manchester City. Instead of a favorable draw in a four-team group, the 2023 champions (investigations still pending) had a stretch of one point in four games, losing to Sporting, Juventus, and PSG. It was only a trio of second-half goals against Club Brugge that kept City from an embarrassing early exit, but they now have to face Real Madrid in a two-legged tie just to reach the Round of 16.

The same goes for those in the Europa League. Manchester United in previous years would struggle to take the competition seriously, but after three draws in their first three games of the league phase, they were able to bounce back with five consecutive wins to secure a place in the Round of 16. Part of that may be due to the club parting ways with Erik ten Hag in late October, but the bottom line is that the Red Devils expected to finish in the top eight of the league phase, and that goal was achieved.

Will the league phase become an object of scorn once the novelty has worn off? Possibly, but change in this scenario cannot be discouraged. One can hope this raises the level of play for the knockout round, and for the competition as a whole in future years.