UEFA changed the format of the Champions League and increased the number of teams to 36 from 32, with the group stage now abolished and the League Phase introduced, from the 2024-25 season in view that the competition will bring out more exciting results with each team playing eight different opposition home and away in a league format of the Swiss Model. The top eight teams qualify directly to the last 16, teams ranked 9th to 24th moving into the playoffs while those finishing 25th or below are eliminated. Their idea is working well early with teams giving their absolute best now the stakes for each game increased in the new format.
The new League Phase has also opened up opportunities for low-budget clubs to stun the top spenders in Europe. The teams are using their home atmosphere to take full points and keep the pressure on those above them in the table. The increase in domestic league slots for the Champions League has allowed them to enter the competition in the first place and they have made sure to transit their fairy tales on the continental front as well. Fans have been treating these David versus Goliath battles from the off and hoping such surprising results pop up throughout the season.
Here are the shock results in the League Phase we have seen so far:
AS Monaco 2-1 FC Barcelona - Stade Louis-11, Monaco (Matchweek 1)
The first major upset came in France when Monaco, returning to the Champions League stage after five years, hosted Barcelona making a dominating start to their La Liga campaign under new boss Hansi Flick. The Blaugranas were favourites in the tie and most expected to start the inaugural League Phase of the competition in the same fashion. However, disaster struck when centre-back Eric Garcia was sent off in just the 10th minute of the match for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Monaco, already launching attacks on the opposition box, flexed their muscle following the dismissal and took the lead through Maghnes Akliouche six minutes later. Euro star Lamine Yamal got 10-men Barcelona back on level terms with an excellent left-footed finish close to the half-hour mark for his Champions League goal but he failed to cherish the feat as Monaco eventually grabbed the winner with their youngest-ever scorer in the competition George Ilenikhena. The Principality club ended their longest winless streak by a French side in European competitions of 14 matches whereas Barca suffered the season's first defeat.
FC Salzburg 0-4 Brest - Red Bull Arena, Salzburg (Matchweek 2)
Among the teams making their debut in the Champions League is Brest whose fairytale campaign in Ligue 1, a third-place finish, allowed them to enter any European competition for the first time in their 121-year-old history. Les Pirates proved they were not just making up the numbers by clinching a 2-1 home win over Austrian champions Sturm Graz in their first-ever Champions League game but the best was yet to come. Facing another Austrian outfit in FC Salzburg who are record domestic winners and Champions League regulars, Brest was expected to feel the pressure in this first continental away trip. Eric Roy’s side again showed they are accustomed to create miracles as the visitors ran riot over the home team, who lost heavily in their tournament opener as well, with the Senegalese Abdallah Sima scoring a brace alongside strikes from Mahdi Camara and Mama Baldé in the 4-0 resounding victory. Brest became the first side since Sheriff Tirasspol in 2021 to win the first two games of their debut Champions League campaign and just the second club from France since PSG in 1994 to achieve so.
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich - Villa Park, Birmingham (Matchweek 2)
Record Europa League-winning coach Unai Emery did wonders in his first season with Aston Villa by guiding them to a top-four place in the Premier League, their highest finish since the 1995-96 season, allowing them to enter the Champions League for the first time in 41 years. The Villains opened the League Phase with a 3-0 bashing of Young Boys but their memorable night came in the second week when they welcomed Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich at the Villa Park. Vincent Kompany’s side came into the match unbeaten, staying top of their domestic league table and thrashing Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their Champions League opener. However, the Belgian did not expect this reception on his return to England nor did Harry Kane after Villa defeated his side with substitute Jhon Duran scoring the decisive goal in the 79th minute in the 1-0 victory. Spotting Manuel Nueur off his line, the Colombian scooped the keeper to the sheer joy of the home fans. However, the result would not have been possible if captain Emiliano Martinez had not made those spectacular saves denying Serge Gnabry and Kane in stoppage time.
Lille 1-0 Real Madrid - Decathlon Arena, Lille (Matchweek 2)
Despite these fascinating results, the mother of all shocks was about to happen with a French club involved again. Going through a shaky form, Lille welcomed record holders Real Madrid expecting nothing less than a miracle to slew the Goliath. Carlo Ancelotti's team, who won their 15th crown last season, was carrying a 14-game unbeaten run in the competition and were just a win away from matching their own record set in 2017 under Zinedine Zidane. However, Lille became the unlikely team to stun the guests and nabbed their unbeaten record with their star striker Jonathan David‘s penalty in first-half stoppage-time made the difference. Despite being the only Ligue 1 outfit to lose in the opening week, Les Dogues showed determination on their own turf keeping the opposition’s second-choice keeper Andriy Lunin replacing the injured Thibaut Courtois busy and making sure Los Blancos suffer even with fit-again Kylian Mbappe’s introduction in the second-half. With Lucas Chevalier making five important saves and the back-five marshaling well to keep out an in-form attack, Lille will enjoy this win for long. This was Madrid's first Champions League loss since getting thumped 4-0 in the 2022-23 semi-finals by Manchester City and their first in the group stages since October 2022.
Juventus 0-1 Stuttgart - Allianz Stadium, Turin (Matchweek 3)
A dramatic game unfolded in Turin when unbeaten Juventus met struggling Stuttgart who had just a point under their belt in the competition. On the contrary, the Bianconeri collected two wins out of two by defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 and making a dramatic comeback victory at Leipzig with just 10 men. Having not lost a single game, Juventus wanted to maintain their momentum, but last season's Bundesliga surprise packages had other ideas. Playing the competition for the first time since 2010, Stuttgart were the better side throughout the match with Ermedin Demirovic hitting the post in the first half and Matias Perin becoming the standout player for the hosts. His vital moment in the game came when Sebastian Hoeness’s side was awarded a late penalty after Deniz Undav’s early second-half opener was disallowed for handball by VAR. Danilo received his second yellow card within a minute of his first after committing a foul that led to the free-kick from which he conceded the penalty. Perin guessed the right way and saved Enzo Millot's spot-kick with the celebration suggesting that the Turin giants might have rescued a point here. However, the late pressure of playing with 10 men and Stuttgart’s repeated attacks caught up to them as El Bilal Toure blasted in a stoppage-time winner with excellent skills to seal only the fourth Champions win sensationally for the German outfit. Thiago Motta suffered his first defeat as manager of Juventus and the one they did not expect to come in this fixture.
Atletico Madrid 1-3 Lille - Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid (Matchweek 3)
After beating the record holders in France, Lille also managed to stun the other club from Madrid in Spain in their very next Champions League match. Despite winning against Leipzig in their League Phase opener, Atletico Madrid suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss to Benfica while their domestic form did not look encouraging. However, Diego Simeone looked determined to win against the French outfit as they began the game on the front foot creating loads of chances in the first half. Strangely, Alexander Sorloth wasted three open net chances which could have put the game out of reach in the opening period with Julian Alvarez giving the home side the lead capitalising from a mistake at the back. Those missed chances came to haunt them as Atletico suffered a total collapse in the second half. Edon Zhegrova curled in a spectacular equaliser near the hour mark before Jonathan David turned the scores around from the spot, just as he did against Real Madrid. The Canadian had another bite of the cherry in the 89th minute when he completed his brace, his sixth goal in the competition this season, to register back-to-back historical wins for Lille. The Ligue 1 outfit also became only the third side in the Champions League to beat two Madrid clubs in a single season.
Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa - Jan Breydelstadion, Brugge (Matchweek 4)
Unai Emery led Aston Villa to secure a historic Champions League qualification last season but they did not stop at it. The Villans began the League Phase on a high note earning three points in the first three matches including beating Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich at home. So, they travelled to Belgium to face Club Brugge for the fourth League Phase match as favourites to win the battle. However, Villa failed to prevent their concerning domestic form, which started after their win against Bologna in the last Champions League match to carry into Europe and lost in the most bizarre way possible. Despite holding much of the possession in the game, Emery’s side managed just one shot on target leaving former Premier League Simon Mignolet almost untroubled in the entire game. On the other hand, Emiliano Martinez had to be sharp in a busy evening making six saves including tipping Ferran Jutgla’s effort on the post but could do nothing for the event that happened early in the second half. Tyrone Mings, making his Champions League debut, picked up the ball thinking it to be out of play when the goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez passed it to him leading to the referee pointing to the spot. Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken dispatched the penalty for the only goal. Aston Villa’s 100% start ended while Brugge won for the first time in 14 attempts against an English side.
Sporting CP 4-1 Manchester City - Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon (Matchweek 4)
The headlining result of the fourth round of League Phase matches came in Portugal when a bulldozing side suddenly crumbled. Shaking off their goalless draw against Inter on the opening matchday, Manchester City demolished pointless Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. Little did they know they would be humiliated on their second away trip in the inaugural League Phase facing Ruben Amorin’s ambitious Sporting CP side who did not lose a single game this season in all competitions. City’s form dwindled right before the match with defeats to Tottenham in the League Cup and surprisingly Bournemouth in the Premier League. Things were looking to change when Phil Foden gave Pep Guardiola’s side the lead within four minutes into the match, snatching a ball from midfield and drilling his shot past the opposition keeper Franco Israel. However, things turned dramatically as the host gave their all to stage a comeback using their in-demand striker Viktor Gyökeres. The Swede scored a well-taken equaliser in the 38th minute to lay the path for Maximiliano Araujo to put Sporting into the lead just a minute after the restart. Even before the Premier League holders could recover from the shock Josko Gvardiol conceded a penalty only moments later for Gyökeres to make it 3-1. To make matters worse for the visitors, their number nine Erling Haaland struck the crossbar from the spot to end their last comeback hopes as Gyökeres completed his hat-trick from consecutive penalties to send his side second on the League Phase table with a memorable win.
