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- There is no more group stage, it is going to be rather a league just as in its name.
- There are going to be 36 teams instead of 32.
- Every team are going to play against 8 different teams, half of them home games and the rest is away.
- Top 8 finishers are qualifying for last 16 directly. The teams placed from 9th to 24th are playing a two-legged playoffs to earn their way through last 16. The remaining teams in the league are eliminated.
- There is no more dropping to the Europa League as of now.
Source: UEFA Official Website
The new format looks interesting but it is likely to be fun for now I think. But will this matter for Real Madrid after signing Mbappe? I don't think so.
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The new format of the Champions League is definitely interesting. And I think we can expect some surprises in this new format. But it is probably still going to be the same for Real Madrid because it is actually not much about the formats, it is about the quality of the team. And when it comes to the Champions League, Real Madrid has the best quality. I don’t see how this format is going to certainly make things very difficult for Real Madrid. Also with the level of the squad that Real Madrid has, they are not going to face too much difficulties than they were already facing recently. That’s gonna happen for at least the next two or three years.
There's this vibe and spice that the champions league teams add to Europa when they fall off from the champions League. The speculation will now be, will the original Europa clubs win the cup or those who came from the champions league will. That speculation has been keeping Europa League interesting for so many years.