Champions League adopts Swiss format with eight-match phase

Europe's elite returned to continental competition this month as the UEFA Champions League began its new league phase, with 36 clubs playing a revised eight-match schedule between September 2025 and January 2026. The opening matchdays have underlined that the contest will be shaped as much by travel and venue as by form, with major stadiums hosting packed fixtures while some clubs face arduous journeys across continents.

Under the Swiss model adopted this season, each team plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away, with seedings determining the matchups. The top eight sides in the single league table qualify directly for the round of 16. Teams finishing ninth to 24th enter a two-legged knockout playoff in February for the remaining last 16 places. The knockout phase then runs through March to May, with the final scheduled for May 30, 2026 in Budapest.

Stadium capacity remains a conspicuous marker of the competition's scale. Transfermarkt has ranked the venues due to host this season, placing Real Madrid's renovated Santiago Bernabéu at the top with a capacity of 83,186. Borussia Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park follows with 81,365 and Milan's San Siro next at...