The newly-reformatted UEFA Champions League is here! Who better to guide you through the first matchday of a new era for European football’s biggest and brightest club competition than continental football expert ANDY BRASSELL, here to take you through the main focal points of the first week of action.

HUGE MATCH-UPS

There have been two main stages to the build-up to this year’s reformatted UEFA Champions League; pre-draw, in which many were confused by what the big, new, all-in-one league phase would look like, and post-draw, in which many of the original naysayers were now drooling with anticipation over some of the big fixtures.

And we have them from the get-go this week. AC Milan v Liverpool FC, Manchester City v Internazionale and AS Monaco v FC Barcelona are all outstanding matches with the potential to get this fresh era off to an absolute flier. With the UEFA Champions League restarting in bold fashion with fixtures over a three- day window rather than two, each one of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday has its huge, must-watch game.

Wednesday’s centrepiece between City and Inter is probably the ultimate pick, a rerun of the 2023 Final and one containing two of Europe’s best sides who have every right to believe in their chances of going deep into this season’s campaign. The Italian champions have a far better team now than the one that got to Istanbul in 2023; in fact they were improved last season too, and still managed to drop the ball against Atlético Madrid in the Round of 16. With City feeling a bit mugged-off by Real Madrid CF last season, both sides have scores to settle.

HANDBRAKE OFF

We were used to a degree of caution in the UEFA Champions League group stages as teams managed workload and resources and played it safe to ensure they finished in the top two. Maybe a best practice approach to this new megagroup will emerge at some point, but it is unlikely to do so this season, and it certainly won’t in the opening weeks.

Why? Quite simply there is no way of knowing yet how many points a team needs to make it into the top eight (and thus directly into the last 16) or, for those below-elite clubs with slightly lesser aims, into the top 24 to make it into the playoffs for the first knockout round.

It might be that, for instance, somewhere around the 16-point mark from the eight games gets top eight – and you bet your last pound/euro that the biggest clubs will do everything they can to get two midweek
matchdays of rest – while around nine should earn teams a playoff spot. For now, though, we just can’t know. And neither can the clubs.

So from Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid CF to Brest or Sturm Graz, the only option is to go for it. The biggest clubs can’t play conservatively with that tangible prize of a couple of games off lying ahead of them. The smaller clubs know a couple of good results will keep them in the mix for post-January involvement. So whether your aim is to top the class or to scrape a passmark, being aggressive and positive is probably the only way to do it, which has to be good news for the watching public.

NEW SIGNINGS WITH POINTS TO PROVE

Generally European clubs are counting the pennies more closely than in a long while but a few clubs have been determined to change their squads profoundly this summer, and have often traded furiously to that end. Juventus (who start against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday) are one giant who has used the summer to get rid of players as well as bring them in and present an exciting new squad for this return to the UEFA Champions League.

It is the biggest stage and for that reason the new boys will be keen to take their opportunities to show their new clubs that they did the right thing in signing them. Michael Olise’s European debut is hotly anticipated, having already conquered swathes of France fans on his first senior squad call-up earlier this month. FC Bayern Munich (who play Dinamo Zagreb) have a rich history of wide players and the Hammersmith-born man scored his first goal for the club in their 6-1 demolition of Holstein Kiel this weekend.

The summer’s biggest signing was Julián Alvarez, who arrived at Atlético looking a little jaded (hardly surprising given he played nearly 80 games in a last season for Manchester City and Argentina that lasted 11 months) but he has started to find an extra gear in recent weeks, scoring in a win against Chile for Argentina and then getting his first Atleti goal to seal a win against Valencia CF on Sunday night. Diego Simeone’s team host RB Leipzig and Alvarez may well be in the starting lineup.

Douglas Luiz is another overworked player who could do with finding some inspiration this week. The Brazilian made a first start for Juventus since joining from Aston Villa in the goalless draw at Empoli this weekend, and he received some criticism for his display. As with Alvarez, it is a little unfair after he arrived straight from a summer playing in the Copa América. Juve were prepared to push the boat out for him so he could give Kenan Yıldız, Teun Koopmeiners and Nico González the space to flex their creative muscles, so Douglas Luiz will be even more vital – arguably – in a UEFA Champions League context as the Serie A side look to return to the top table in style.

ICON OF THE MATCHWEEK: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid CF)

The brilliant Brazilian was on the scoresheet again at the weekend, netting the vital penalty opener at Real Sociedad in a hard-fought win. Much has been made of the relationship between Vini and Kylian Mbappé and how they might tactically fit; with them both being renowned for outstanding movement and having played significant parts of last season in a front two and as a central striker respectively, the flexibility they will give Carlo Ancelotti is significant.

This week, however, they land together in Real Madrid CF’s natural habitat, in the arena in which they will be judged ahead of all others. VfB Stuttgart, last season’s surprise Bundesliga runners-up, arrive at the Bernabéu and will prove a test.

Sebastian Hoeness’ team are not shy; they play attacking, possession-based football and this, combined with a habitually narrow midfield shape, should mean that Vini will find more space on the left flank than he would be likely to in your average La Liga game. VfB Stuttgart will come to spoil a Madrid party and, inadvertently, might give Vini and Mbappé the chance to party themselves.