If PSG has nothing to worry about, the other French clubs qualified in the Champions League can fear the worst. But the new formula of the C1 changes the situation.
An era will close on June 1, during the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. The old formula of the C1 has lived and will give way to a new version with no longer 32, but 36 teams divided into four groups of nine teams, each club playing eight matches during the first phase, called the League phase.
The draw will be upset. The 36 clubs will certainly still be divided into four hats, with therefore nine teams per hat. But each club will ultimately face two clubs from each hat, that is to say two from hat 1, two others from hat 2, then 3 and 4. The importance of the hats is therefore less.
Lille in hat 3?
The UEFA ranking, based on European Cup results over the last five years, will nevertheless govern the distribution of teams in the four hats. PSG is thus already guaranteed to emerge in the first hat alongside the other European leaders, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, its tormentor in the semi-finals.
Another certainty, Brest will conversely emerge in the fourth hat. The same should be true of Monaco, barring any surprises during the preliminary rounds and accession play-offs. For now, only 26 of the 36 participating teams are in fact known. Lille will have to go through this to validate their ticket. And in the event of qualification, the Northerners should probably appear in hat 3.
Here are the possible hats:
Hat 1
Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, FC Barcelona
Hat 2
Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus, Atalanta, Benfica, Arsenal, FC Bruges, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
Hat 3
Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Lille, PAOK Salonika, Fenerbahçe, Maccabi Tel aviv, Young Boys Bern, Celtic
Hat 4
Galatasaray, Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest
