Real Madrid are floundering in the Champions League. The format they hate might save them

Real Madrid lost at Liverpool on Wednesday, and in a previous era, that might have been that. Three Champions League defeats in five tries were, once upon a time, crippling. Losses to Lille and AC Milan would have endangered any European campaign. A third, 2-0 at Anfield, might have ended it.

Real Madrid, though, are very much alive in the 2024-25 competition precisely because of the new Champions League format their president detests.

"[The] new model will have more games and less interest. It's an absurd competition," Florentino Pérez said last November.

Now, it's the only reason his club are still title contenders.

Los Blancos stumbled yet again Wednesday, on a boisterous evening in northwest England. They caved to Liverpool pressure early in the second half. Their only shot on target prior to stoppage time was their best chance to equalize — a penalty that Kylian Mbappé failed to convert.

Their obvious excuse is injuries. They've been debilitated by a growing list of absentees that now includes Aurélien Tchouaméni, Rodrygo, three key defenders and Vinícius Júnior. But the stars that remain have been dim. Mbappé was dreadful Wednesday. On early matchdays, the entire team looked disjointed, disinterested or both.

And the results have been grim. They needed late rallies to beat Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund. They fell in France, then at home to struggling AC Milan.

For decades, such a start to the Champions League would have put their progression to the knockout stage squarely in the balance. The old format — 32 teams, eight groups of four, top two in each group advance — was stale but relatively unforgiving. It granted some leeway; and as inequality within European soccer deepened, giants rarely fell. But when they floundered repeatedly, like Manchester United in 2020 and 2023, they'd perish.

In response to pressure from superclubs such as Real Madrid, however, UEFA expanded and overhauled the format. Now there is a "league phase," from which 24 (out of 36) teams will progress. Through five rounds, with three remaining, Real sits squarely on the bubble of the 24, on six points, in 24th place.

In other words, the Galacticos, the preseason favorites, have been subpar; but as things stand, they'd still go through to the first knockout round. They'd still be favored, no matter their opponent, to win and advance to the Round of 16, as they have for 27 consecutive seasons.

And their savior would be the new Champions League structure that Pérez thinks is "absurd."

He says that because he is the leading proponent of a European Super League. He was the architect of the project that failed in 2021. He was the most powerful force behind attempts to revive the Super League last December. "The Super League is more necessary than ever," he said last year.

So he hated the compromise, UEFA's new Champions League format, which created more giant-vs.-giant matchups in the league phase, but watered down the competition.

He reiterated his criticism this past Sunday. “The new Champions League format has proved not to be a solution, as we predicted," Pérez said in a long speech at Real Madrid's annual general meeting. "It has increased the number of matches but reduced the value of each match. The competition will only arouse the passion of the fans at the end and not at the beginning, as expected.”

And then, three days later, his floundering team aroused the passion of fans by losing again.

Real Madrid has been so bad that, suddenly, their league phase matches have actually become meaningful.

Next up is a trip to Atalanta on Matchday 6 (Dec. 10). A defeat there, in Bergamo, Italy, would leave Los Blancos on the outside looking in at the knockouts.

But still, even then, wins in their final two games — against Salzburg and Brest — would almost certainly be sufficient.

Pérez, in many ways, is right — the new format has devalued these early round games, by making losses relatively inconsequential. It is far too merciful.

And in the most ironic of twists, it is his club, the defending champions, the kings of Europe, Real Madrid, who will probably benefit.