UEFA to change home advantage in UCL knockouts

UEFA is to change the Champions League rules for adjacent play to springiness location vantage to the champion teams successful the League Phase passim the knockout rounds -- aft Arsenal and Barcelona some faced semifinal heartbreak.

In 2024-25, the archetypal play of the expanded 36-team tournament, clubs who finished successful the apical 8 of the League Phase were guaranteed to play 2nd limb of their circular of 16 necktie astatine home. But for the quarterfinals and semifinals, an unfastened gully was held, diluting the worth of show successful the table.

In this season's semifinals, Paris Saint-Germain (15th) and Inter Milan (4th) were some drawn to play the 2nd limb astatine home, adjacent though they finished little successful the array than their respective opponents, Arsenal (3rd) and Barcelona (2nd). PSG and Inter some went done to the last aft winning successful the 2nd leg, with the Ligue 1 nine moving retired commanding 5-0 winners astatine the Allianz Arena.

From adjacent season, the bid of the necktie volition beryllium decided by which squad finishes highest -- and they volition play the 2nd limb astatine home.

The quarterfinals didn't propulsion up specified wide examples, with PSG the lone squad lower-ranked than their opponents (Aston Villa, eighth) to advance, but they were drawn to play the instrumentality limb astatine Villa Park.

The alteration was agreed by UEFA's nine competitions committee successful a gathering up of Saturday's Champions League final. Although the regulations for 2025-26 person already been published, the modification tin inactive beryllium made if ratified by the Executive Committee; arsenic it's not owed to conscionable again until September, a virtual gathering volition beryllium held -- nary aboriginal than the League Phase gully connected Aug. 28 -- wherever support volition beryllium confirmed.

It volition underline the value of finishing arsenic precocious arsenic imaginable successful League Phase, alternatively than conscionable being successful the apical 8 -- which provides 2 blank gameweeks successful February, erstwhile teams ranked ninth to 24th instrumentality portion successful the knockout playoff round, and a location 2nd limb successful the circular of 16.

So this season, by finishing successful archetypal and 2nd position, Liverpool and Barcelona would beryllium guaranteed important location vantage each the mode through.

There was immoderate treatment astir giving the higher-ranked nine the prime of playing location oregon distant successful the 2nd leg, but it was decided to spell with automatic limb order.

No different changes were made, included a rumoured scrapping of other clip earlier penalties and blocking clubs from the aforesaid state from playing each different successful the knockout playoff round.