How does the new Champions League format work? How Aston Villa can reach knockouts after flying start

Last night was a night of triumph for Aston Villa, as they defeated German giants Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final - similar to that fateful evening, Villa won 1-0 once again in a major upset.

After a game in which Bayern enjoyed the lions’ share of chances and possession, Jhon Duran caught goalkeeper Manuel Neuer off guard and lobbed the German international from range with a smartly-taken finish.

Villa are enjoying a brilliant return to the Champions League - they currently sit sixth in the 36-team league table with two wins from two games. Only Borussia Dortmund, Brest, Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool are above the Villans. All those sides have won their opening two games but have a better goal difference after two rounds of action.

The Champions League is under a new format this season and stick with us as we explain how it works in full as Villa look to build on their flying start to the competition.

On the new Champions League format, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said: “UEFA has clearly shown that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model.

“I am really pleased that it was a unanimous decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the European Club Association, European Leagues and national associations all agreeing with the proposal made. Another proof that European football is more united than ever.”

How does the new Champions League format work in the 2024/25 season?

Instead of using a group system or applying a straight knockout format, the Champions League is instead being played under a ‘Swiss League’ formula this season.

There are 36 teams in one giant league - each will play a total of eight games against randomly drawn opposition - divided into seeding pots- with four home games and four away games. Upon the final set of fixtures, all teams will play simultaneously.

Aston Villa’s Champions League league stage fixtures are known - they have already played Young Boys and Bayern Munich. Their remaining games in the league stage will be against Bologna (H), Club Brugge (A), Juventus (H), RB Leipzig (A), Monaco (A) and Celtic (H).

Teams that finish in the top eight of the league will automatically progress through to the last 16 of the competition. The teams that finish from 9th to 24th will enter a play-off round. Meanwhile, teams that place 25th to 36th will be eliminated from the Champions League.

Those who finish from 9th to 16th will play a team from 17th to 24th - as such, there is incentive for mid table Champions League teams to finish as high as possible, even if automatic progression looks unlikely. Winners of these play-off games will then play a team who finished between first and eighth in the last 16 - from that point on, the competition will revert to a straight knockout format with home and away legs.