The Champions League is back with a brand new format - and some fans were left pleasantly surprised following Thursday night's initial draw.


Europe's premier competition has been expanded this year, with 36 teams competing instead of the usual 32. That means each club is guaranteed to play eight fixtures against a variety of opponents rather than the previous four-team groups.

In terms of the Premier League, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City all discovered their fate following the draw in Monaco and there are some mouthwatering fixtures to look forward to.

But while there has been scepticism over the changes made to the 'regular' Champions League format, some fans didn't seem to mind the new draw.

The response on social media was mixed, though some indicated they were pleasantly surprised, especially after the draw produced a number of big matches.

One fan wrote on social media: "This new CL format is much better, what a draw." Another said: "The new #ucldraw format is fire. There are so many classic pairings from the start. Top stuff.

Another fan highlighted some of the matches that the new format has thrown up. They wrote: Some unreal ties in Champions League Draw. Could see this format being better than the old group stages. Too many games though, no need to add extra 2."

Others criticised the lengthy wait for the draw to actually take place, with one fan saying: "Can they just get on with the draw. 20 minutes in and I'm bored. Rather watch paint dry. Is computer saying no?"

Liverpool will face the likes of Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen under new head coach Arne Slot, with the latter fixture throwing up an Anfield homecoming for Xabi Alonso: one of the candidates who was tipped to succeed Jurgen Klopp before Slot got the job.

Slot was the first to admit that Liverpool had been handed a tough draw but the Dutchman stressed there was plenty for his team to look forward to.

He said: "The first thing to say is it is a very challenging draw but also a very exciting one and more important than anything, we are part of it – which means there is a lot to look forward to and also a lot of work to be done.

"There will be a lot of focus on the fixture against Real Madrid at Anfield, and rightly so because they are the holders of the competition, but at the same time there is so much quality among our other opponents that we will spread our attention evenly and take each game as it comes."