Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone on the new Champions League format: “It forces us to win”

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says the new Champions League format “forces us to win”.

This week, the revamped league phase of Europe's elite club competition began with 36 teams, replacing the previous group stage format.

All teams play against eight different opponents, with the top eight teams advancing to the round of 16. The clubs ranked ninth to 24th play in a home and away play-off format for a place in the knockout round.

Previously, 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, with the two best teams from each phase advancing.

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“This format forces us to win, in this game a draw would be of little use,” said Simeone.

“The format requires us to try to win. And if we don't, we have to make something of it. Whoever wins the most will go into the group of eight who qualify and don't have to play two more games.”

Simeone, 54, took charge of Atletico's 2-1 home win over RB Leipzig in their opening match on Thursday, with Jose Maria Gimenez scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute.

From the round of 16 of the Champions League onwards, there will now be a seeding list, meaning that the first and second placed teams in the league phase will only be able to compete against each other in the final.

In total, there will be 189 matches in the competition, up from 125 so far, culminating in the final in Munich on 31 May 2025.

Atletico are second in La Liga with 11 points from their first five games and return to league action on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano. Their next Champions League game is away to Benfica on October 2.