Why the much-hyped Champions League group stage finale simply didn’t work
Why the much-hyped Champions League group stage finale simply didn’t work
Share:
There was goals galore without the significance immediately being obvious and the richest clubs ultimately got exactly what they wanted out of the new format. It was billed as the first television event of its kind in football but that also meant it was the first television event in football where you required a manual.
![[The stakes in Man City’s clash with Brugge were clear but that wasn’t the case in all games]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/22/769093d66b0183101d92648eab866ed4Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM4Mjc0NTgx-2.78837141.jpg)
The final night of the new Champions League group stage had a lot of goals, which was fun. It was also confusing, precisely because it had a lot of goals. Or, rather, a lot of goals where the significance wasn’t immediately obvious. The format almost worked against the showpiece in that sense.
![[Sturm Graz and RB Leipzig both crashed out at the group stage]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/23/38/SEI237845529.jpeg)
That meant it didn’t quite work as a TV event in the way that was expected, either. Other than a game like Manchester City-Club Brugge, where the situation was binary and the stakes clear, it was almost information overload. Too many goals were going in, without it being instantly obvious what that meant for the table.
![[Ally McCoist was a welcome addition to the TNT Sports studio team]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/23/00/SEI237087926.jpeg)
That sense of significance is after all what really elevates such events, and live sport in general. It’s not just the content but the consequence. There was more “jeopardy” to more games than in the old group stage, sure, but that doesn’t quite have the same impact if you have to consult a spreadsheet to see what a goal means.
