"Uefa will proudly tell the world that only six teams have nothing to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday, but whether it was worth 126 games to get to the mild peril of Napoli or Club Brugge possibly going out, or the questionable thrill of finding out whether Tottenham or Atalanta will have to endure the playoff round, is debatable."
"That the reward for finishing in the top eight is not to have to play two further games is itself telling, an admission that there is too much football and that having to play a couple of extra games is now regarded not as a revenue-raising exercise but as an imposition. As tournaments have expanded and proliferated, so fatigue has become a defining force."
"It perhaps explains why, as Tariq Panja observed this week on the Libero podcast, only Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain of the game's elite seem better now than they were five years ago. And it probably explains why Premier League teams are so dominant at this stage of the Champions League but win it relatively rarely. One image perhaps stands out from the group stage, which is that of"
Few truly great matches occurred in the Champions League group stage this season, and many games carried little meaningful consequence. The competition produced 126 fixtures that largely served as a prolonged warm-up before knockout rounds. Only a handful of teams have no stakes remaining in the final matchday, yet the format highlights fixture excess and player fatigue. Finishing in the top eight avoids two additional playoff ties, reflecting how extra matches are now viewed as an imposition rather than revenue. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain appear stronger than five years ago, while Premier League clubs often dominate group-stage ties through physicality but rarely convert that into tournament victories.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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