The big teams to exit from the 2024/2025 Champions League early

The new Champions League format was expected to bring its own surprises along the way, and it is living up to expectations so far.

The competition has some clubs who are expected to compete for the trophy every season, and we already know the favourites to win it this year.

However, the new format has affected some of the competition’s biggest names and it is looking unlikely that they will survive.

When the league phase ends, there would be surprise names that would qualify for the knockout stage without going through the playoff.

This means that some of the biggest names in the tournament would either have been relegated or would have to try to reach the knockout stage via the playoff.

After four league phase games, some of Europe’s elite are struggling to impress their fans who buy Champions League tickets.

These teams have been dropping points to teams that we have expected them to win easily, and that is a recipe for disaster.

Manchester City and Real Madrid have won the last two Champions League crowns, but they could potentially not qualify automatically for the next round of the competition.

This shows how unpredictable the new Champions League format is. It is here to stay, so critics cannot say it has lost its magic.

In the next four games of the league phase, we expect better performances from regulars in the competition, however, in this article, we cover the top sides who might fail to qualify for the next round. 

Manchester City

Manchester City won the Champions League in 2023 after reaching the final in 2021, and they have been one of the clubs that has done well in the competition in the last few seasons.

The Citizens have what it takes to still win the Champions League this season, but they are on a terrible run of form.

Ahead of their game against Feyenoord, they lost five consecutive competitive matches, and they still failed to beat the Dutch club.

It is a dreadful run of form that leaves so much to be desired and little confidence in the players among the fans.

However, everyone who has been buying Manchester City tickets know that they have success written into their DNA and it is just a matter of time before the team bounces back.

Juventus

Juventus missed out on European football last season after a UEFA ban, and their return to the Champions League football started well.

The Old Lady won their first two matches, but Thiago Motta’s team lost at home to the impressive Stuttgart and could not beat Lille in France.

Those two results will reduce the confidence of their players before their match against Aston Villa, which is not good.

The Premier League club has beaten Bayern Munich in the competition this season. After Villa, Juventus will face Manchester City and they will feel that they have missed their chance to qualify by not winning their easier games.

Juventus tickets will still sell this season, but it is tougher for the Old Lady to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition now.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich is European royalty just like Real Madrid because of the high scoring wins they often earn in the tournament.

However, the Bavarians are undergoing a transformation after appointment Vincent Kompany as their manager this term.

Their loss to Aston Villa at the start of this competition was the clearest sign that this might not be Bayern’s year because they are too inconsistent.

They remain among the most followed clubs in the competition and their match tickets will continue to sell in large numbers, but it is hard to see how Bayern can go through automatically unless they win all their remaining matches in the league phase.

They secured a major win by defeating PSG in their last game, but the Parisians have been poor, and the games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord could be bigger tests for them.

They can avoid defeats in those matches, but they must win both to qualify through the automatic spots in the league phase.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid is the most successful club in the Champions League and the defending champions in the competition, however, Los Blancos is having a hard time in the league format of the competition.

They have already been beaten by AC Milan and Lille in the competition, and their next test will be against Liverpool.

It will be a tough game for Los Blancos, who will be without their star man, Vinicius Junior, but they must not lose that match.

Liverpool is in great shape and tops the Premier League standings, so fans who buy Real Madrid tickets should not be too confident about their team’s chance of winning at Anfield.

They have a good recent record against Liverpool, but the Reds are in better shape in all competitions this term, and a defeat in that game would mean three losses from five Champions League games.

Their next opponent is Atalanta, and if they fail to win at Liverpool, they will not have the confidence to defeat the Goddess of Italian football.

PSG

We all expected PSG to struggle after the departure of Kylian Mbappe at the end of last season, but they have done well in Ligue 1.

The Parisians remain on course to win the French league title again, but they have been terrible in Europe.

They are set to become the first top team to be relegated from the competition as they cannot buy a win.

Their first game of the campaign in the Champions League set the tone for their struggles as they needed a late own goal to beat Girona and they have not won another match since then.

Their latest loss to Bayern Munich all but ends any hope that PSG tickets buyers have of seeing their team play in the knockout stage of the competition.

The Parisians have a fine squad, but Luis Enrique’s team looks immature for the Champions League stage, and the club is paying a huge price for the departure of their former star man, Kylian Mbappe.

Conclusion

The Champions League's league phase has been really tough on the top clubs on the continent, and it is interesting to see.

However, with at least three more matches left, some of these teams have time to catch up with the others at the top.

PSG would need to win their remaining matches to make the playoff places, but Enrique’s team looks poorly equipped for Champions League football.