What happens if there’s a tie in the Champions League’s new league phase?

The overall format of the UEFA Champions League’s opening stage may have changed this season, but there’s nothing new about its points-per-game scoring system.

What happens if UCL league-phase game is tied?

During the new ‘league phase’, which has replaced what was known as the ‘group stage’, teams earn three points for winning a game, and no points for losing. If the scores are level when the referee blows the final whistle after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, there is no extra time or penalties. The game is declared a tie and each team is awarded one point.

Where, previously, the points teams won in the Champions League’s opening phase went towards determining their position in a four-team group - with the top two in each section qualifying for the knockout stage - every club in the league phase is ranked in a single table. What’s more, there are 36 teams in the league-phase standings - four more than took part in the old group stage.

Under the new Champions League format, each team will play a total of eight league-phase games - four at home, four away - against eight different teams. At the end of the league phase, the top eight-ranked clubs will qualify automatically for the last 16. Clubs finishing ninth to 24th will have to negotiate a playoff to advance to the knockout stage proper.

What happens if there’s a points tie in the UCL league phase?

If two or more teams are level on points in the league phase, they will be separated by their goal difference across all of their fixtures during the opening stage. This represents another change from the Champions League’s format in previous seasons: in the former group stage, the top tiebreaker used was head-to-head results between the teams level on points. Switching to overall goal difference is a logical choice, given that teams level on points may well not have met during the league phase.

2024/25 UCL league phase: standings after matchday one

2024/25 Champions League matchday two: full fixture list

How to watch the 2024/25 Champions League in the US

In the United States, CBS and TUDN have the broadcasting rights to the 2024/25 Champions League. CBS says its coverage of the tournament will be across CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports Golazo and its streaming service Paramount+. TUDN, meanwhile, is set to show the action on the channels TUDN USA and UniMás, and the affiliated streaming platform ViX.