The 2024-25 Champions League season delivered one of the most shocking storylines in recent memory when Manchester City, despite their domestic dominance and recent European triumph, crashed out of the competition before even reaching the knockout rounds. This unprecedented failure has exposed the harsh realities facing Pep Guardiola’s side as they navigate both UEFA’s revolutionary new format and their own internal struggles to rediscover the form that once made them the continent’s most feared team.

The New Champions League Format: A Double-Edged Sword

UEFA’s ambitious overhaul of the Champions League format has fundamentally altered the landscape of European football. The expansion from 32 to 36 teams, coupled with the introduction of a single league phase replacing the traditional group stage, has created a more complex and unpredictable tournament structure. For Manchester City, this new format has proven to be both a blessing and a curse, highlighting their vulnerabilities while simultaneously demonstrating the competition’s enhanced excitement and unpredictability.

The new system’s 36-team league phase has eliminated the safety net that many elite clubs previously enjoyed in smaller groups. Every match carries significant weight, with teams needing to finish in the top 24 positions to advance to the knockout phase. The top eight teams qualify directly for the Round of 16, while positions 9-24 enter a playoff round that can produce dramatic encounters between European giants.

This format change has created scenarios that would have been impossible under the old system. Manchester City’s early exit, despite their status as recent champions, exemplifies how the new structure can punish even the most accomplished teams for any drop in form. The increased number of matches and the elimination of the buffer that smaller groups provided has made consistency more crucial than ever before.

UEFA officials have expressed satisfaction with the format’s success in generating excitement and unpredictability. The governing body has particularly praised the playoff round, which has produced blockbuster matchups that would traditionally only occur in later stages of the competition. City’s playoff encounter with Real Madrid, despite their eventual elimination, provided exactly the kind of high-profile drama that UEFA