Why this year’s Champions League is already the best ever

The single-elimination format and mini-tournament schedule has already made this season’s Champions League the best in tournament history.

In a year where sports around the globe have been severely hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard to believe that there’s a competition out there that may have actually benefitted from the virus pause.

That tournament is the Champions League, specifically the knockout stage starting with the quarterfinal round that kicked off on Wednesday with Paris Saint-Germain’s thrilling 2-1 last-gasp win against Atalanta, the tournament’s Cinderella side.

As a result of the pandemic, UEFA scrambled after the tournament was put on pause in March while in the midst of the Round of 16. Once Europe’s domestic competitions were completed last month, the Champions League was given a hasty makeover to accommodate the compressed summer timeline.

The revamped Champions League has been an instant success

In order to do so, the Champions League was moved to August (a time when clubs typically play meaningless friendlies in preparation for the coming season) and dumped the home-and-away format. In its place, teams were placed in a World Cup-style bracket with the winner advancing after a one-and-done match.

It was that single-match urgency that gave us PSG’s late winner after Atalanta had been up 1-0 entering the game’s dying minutes. It was the French club’s two goals in a three-minute span, punctuated by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s dramatic 93rd minute strike, to land them in the semifinals for the first time in 25 years. This could be the season where Neymar and Kylian Mbappe lift PSG’s Champions League curse.

“It was a crazy game, a tough game, against a tough opponent. It wasn’t easy. Neymar had a great game,” Choupo-Moting told BT Sport after the game. “I thought when I was coming on ‘we can’t lose, we can’t go home like this.’ I was confident in myself and the team.”

This crazy game added to the tournament’s lore that now spans 65 years. Although Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz featured no fans because of COVID-19, the excitement surrounding PSG’s exciting victory was palpable as millions around the world watched from their homes.

And there’s more to come over the coming days. The Champions League’s other six remaining teams are also in Lisbon as part of a 12-day mini-tournament format that will culminate with the final on Aug. 23, barring any widespread virus outbreak. There are health protocols in place and regular testing to ensure there is no spread among players.

PSG will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal featuring Atletico Madrid against RB Leipzig. The round’s other matches are the big match featuring Barcelona against Bayern Munich (the only two clubs still in the competition to have won it before) on Friday and Manchester City versus Lyon the following day. We can only imagine the excitement these games will produce.

UEFA should consider implementing this season’s modifications in the future. The single-elimination format played out in a compressed schedule in one city may be the way to go. It does mean fewer matches (and less TV revenue), but that could be made up by expanding the group stage and enlarging the bracket.

It’s true the Champions League is three months behind schedule because of the pandemic, but this tournament has already shown it’s better late than never.