Contrasting storylines as new Champions League era finally kicks off

This week saw a new era of the European Champions League being ushered in. Though change is always tough to adjust to, the revised format of Europe’s Premier club competition showed glimpses of what it can offer.

But within the positive takeaways, there were some bumps in the road. As is to be expected in any pilot season.

Reiterating player concerns

In recent months, soccer players have come out to criticise the sport’s administrators for placing their own interests ahead of the welfare of players. The players have been backed by various unions in this regard.

In the build-up of Manchester City’s first game of the rejigged Champions League, the club’s Spanish midfielder Rodri reiterated the words of his teammate Kevin De Bruyne on player well-being, saying it is not a good thing for the quality of the sport that games keep increasing.

Read more: Untangling the new European Champions League format following its formal introduction

The previous version of the Champions League saw 125 matches being played in total. That figure has now increased to 189 for the refurbished version. Rodri believes this is untenable in the long-term.

“We are close to that. If it stays this way we will have no other option. It is something that worries us,” the Spanish midfield told journalists in response to a question of a potential player strike.

Workload to the ‘detriment of the game’

Last season Rodri played 50 games overall for City, lasting the whole match in the majority of those appearances. He was also instrumental as Spain won the 2024 European Championship, playing in all but one of the games in the lead-up to La Roja being crowned champions of Europe.

His former City teammate Julián Alvarez — who is now at Atletico Madrid — played in 54 club games for the English champions in 2023/24. Following that, he went to represent Argentina at Copa America, where he was important for his country being crowned champions of the Americas.

He was not done yet though, following that shift in the continental showpiece, as he once again turned out for his country at the Olympic Games. That put him on just more than 60 overall matches, excluding international friendlies.

Rodri believes such a workload will become the norm from this season forth, to the detriment of the game.

“Between 40 and 50 is the number of games in which a player can perform at the highest level. After that you drop because it’s impossible to sustain the physical level,” the 28-year-old stated.

“This year we are maybe going to go until 70 or maybe 80 [games]. In my humble opinion, it is too much,” he said.

“Not everything is about money or marketing. It is about the quality of the show. When I am not tired, I perform better. If people want to see better football, we need to rest,” he added.

Kane leads golden boot race 

English striker Harry Kane — who ended last season as the joint top scorer in the Champions League (tied on eight with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé) — laid down the marker by scoring four goals in his first match of the new season.

Kane, 31, and his Bayern Munich teammates tore apart Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, with the former Tottenham Hotspur forward sprinting into an early lead for the golden boot race this season. Of his four goals, three were from the penalty spot.

The win by Bayern also saw them break the record for the most goals by one team in a Champions League match. The heavy win for the Germans led to the firing of Zagreb manager Sergej Jakirović — a year and a half after his appointment.

Bayern failed to win any trophies last season, the first time in more than a decade that this had happened. Kane says the six-time European champions are desperate to rectify that situation.

‘It’s the first time I’ve ever had three penalties in one game. It was a different feeling for me, but to score four goals is fantastic,” Kane said.

“To help the team in any way possible is important. Whether they’re penalties or normal finishes I’ll take them all… Everyone has a point to prove here and we’ve started the season that way,” he added.

Snore draw?

One of the reasons provided by the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) with regards to the Champions League makeover was that it would increase the probability of Europe’s heavyweights clashing with each other prior to the knockout rounds. Thus, contributing to the excitement of the overall competition.

A clash between 2023 finalists, City and Inter Milan, should have helped prove Uefa’s point. It did the opposite.

Read more: Real Madrid dispatch holders Man City in Champions League shootout

Nil-all draws are not always drab. Sometimes teams can play some exciting soccer, but lack that finishing touch to score goals. The tussle between the champions of England and their Italian counterparts was not in this category.

In fact, a few spectators present at Etihad Stadium may have dosed off during the match.

“They are masters of defending deep. They help each other unbelievably so you cannot expect to create a lot of chances,” said City manager Pep Guardiola after the game.

More importantly, both sides dropped precious points in the new 36-team league format of the Champions League.

New format explained

Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents.

The top eight teams then automatically advance to the round of 16. The 16 teams that finish below that cut-off are required to play a mock last-16 stage, with the winners in those fixtures advancing to the round of 16 proper.

Teams such as defending champions Real Madrid, as well the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Celtic and Sparta Praha registered maximum points to start their campaigns.