Benfica New Champions League Format

Benfica will take part in the (new) league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League. Atalanta's victory on Sunday, May 26, in Bergamo against Torino, and the achievement of at least 4th place in Serie A, confirmed the direct qualification of the team with the best ranking among those present in the qualifying phase for the Champions League.

Atalanta, winners of the 2023/24 Europa League, needed three points from one of their two remaining Serie A games - against Torino and/or Fiorentina - to climb the standings and secure 4th place in the competition, which they did on Sunday, a scenario that put the Eagles directly into the Champions League.

For the 14th time in the last 15 seasons - since 2010/11 - Benfica have reached the main stage of the Champions League.

The 2024/25 Champions League will be marked by the introduction of a new competitive format, the main new feature of which is the replacement of the group stage - in which 32 teams took part, spread over eight groups - with a league in which 36 teams will play eight matches. The draw is scheduled for August 29.

In the league phase, each team will play four matches as a guest and as a visitor, against two opponents from each of the four pots defined according to the (cumulative) ranking of the clubs in the last five years in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League).

Once the eight matches have been played on a points system similar to that of the national championships, the top eight teams will be guaranteed direct qualification to the round of 16. The teams that finish between 9th and 24th will have to face each other in a two-legged play-off to stay in the competition.

Teams that finish between 25th and 36th are eliminated from the competition, and - unlike the format that applied in 2023/24 - progression to the Europa League is excluded.

From the round of 16 onwards until the final, the knockout phase will be played over two legs.