"After a league phase in which only Arsenal and Bayern Munich looked truly excellent, the Champions League has arrived at the knockout playoff round. A quick refresher of what that means: In the new format, introduced last season, the top eight teams in the league-stage table advance directly to the round of 16;"
"Still, though, the format does introduce 16 more elimination matches, and strange things can always happen in knockout rounds. These playoffs look better than last year's in terms of match-up quality as well, so that's a nice bonus. There's only really one completely one-sided tie, and even in that one, the favored team isn't particularly strong; the opposition is just that weak. With that in mind, let's break down each"
Only Arsenal and Bayern Munich looked truly excellent during the league phase, and the Champions League has moved to the knockout playoff round. The new format advances the top eight league-stage teams directly to the round of 16 while the next 16 teams contest two-leg playoffs for the remaining spots. The format gives underperforming big clubs a second chance and provides smaller teams an extra opportunity, though many ties appear uncompetitive. The playoffs add 16 elimination matches and allow for surprises. These playoffs generally feature stronger matchups than last season, with only one clearly one-sided tie.
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