Paris Saint Germain (PSG) ended their journey to conquer the top of Europe with a historic 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the final match on the morning of June 1 at Allianz Arena (Munich, Germany).
Looking back at the journey of the French capital team in this year's Champions League, UEFA decided to change the rules after the first season applying the new format of the tournament.
PSG won a historic treble after winning the Champions League (Photo: Getty)
Accordingly, UEFA will grant home advantage in the second leg of the Round of 16 to the teams in the Top 8 at the end of the League Phase. This advantage will be maintained in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
In last season's Champions League, teams in the Top 8 League Phase were guaranteed a home leg of the Round of 16. However, this benefit no longer applies from the quarter-finals onwards.
Starting next season (2025-26), UEFA will extend that privilege to the entire knockout stage, with the team ranked higher in the League Phase always playing the second leg at home.
The change was prompted by a request from Arsenal and Barcelona, who finished 2nd and 3rd in the League Phase, but despite being higher up the table, they will still have to play away in the second leg against PSG and Inter Milan, who are in 15th and 4th place respectively.
Last season, if the new rule had been applied early, Arsenal and Barcelona, with their League Phase positions above them, would have likely played the second leg at home in the semi-finals, thereby creating a huge advantage and a chance to qualify for the final.
Both Arsenal and Barcelona have been in incredible form in the Champions League this season, especially in the League Phase, and after being eliminated by PSG, the London club have been the most vocal on the issue.
UEFA amends Champions League rules after complaints from Arsenal (Photo: Getty).
Coach Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are the strongest team in the 2024-25 Champions League. But their efforts at the beginning of the season were not adequately rewarded, leading to a disadvantage and loss in the semi-finals against PSG.
In addition to ensuring an advantage for the teams with higher achievements in the League Phase, UEFA has also discussed a number of other proposals such as eliminating extra time or prohibiting clubs from the same country from meeting each other in the play-offs and knockout rounds. However, these issues have not been decided by UEFA.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/uefa-doi-luat-o-champions-league-sau-khi-psg-vo-dich-20250603090508662.htm
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