Champions League

FOOTIE fans couldn’t get over just how bored Cristiano Ronaldo looked during the Champions League draw.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner played a key role in the draw in Monaco after receiving a gong for being the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer.Cristiano Ronaldo played a big part in the Champions League draw along with former team-mate Gianluigi BuffonCredit: APRonaldo was tasked with pressing the all-important magic button to help finalise the groupsCredit: APBut he cut a bored figure on several occasions during the near hour-long drawCredit: TNT SPORTSRonaldo’s enthusiasm for the draw quickly wanedCredit: GETTYHis lack of interest quickly became the talk of social mediaCredit: GETTYThe Portuguese superstar was dressed to the nines as he was tasked with the job of pressing the all-important supercomputer button.Ronaldo was required to push the button every time his former Juventus team-mate Gianluigi Buffon drew a team out of the four seeded pots.The Manchester United and Real Madrid legend initially cut an enthusiastic figure, although his eagerness waned as the draw dragged on.The 39-year-old had a vacant look on his face several times when his services weren’t required.READ MORE UCL NEWSAnd his boredom was clear and evident when German giants Borussia Dortmund were learning their fate.The forward looked unbothered as he leaned against the table and placed one hand on his hip.His boredom didn’t go unnoticed, with one viewer of the draw saying: “Ronaldo is killing me, he’s so so bored.”Another said: “Ronaldo is SO bored of standing there pressing the same button every 2 minutes.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSNew Champions League formatEach club will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots.They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the “country coefficient” chart each season.And another said: “Ronaldo already looks bored lol. Some Champions League draw this.”One remarked: “Only thing I like about this is Ronaldo getting bored and just pressing the button whenever he wants.”The new Champions League format explainedAnother chimed in: “Surely I’m not the only one entertained by watching Cristiano Ronaldo trying to make pressing a button over and over entertaining.”He looks so bored.”Premier League quartet Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City learned the fates for this season’s tournament during the draw.Arsenal will be away to Inter Milan, Atalanta, Girona and Sporting Lisbon and will host Shakhtar Donetsk, GNK Dinamo, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates,Aston Villa, meanwhile, will welcome Bayern Munich, Juventus Bologna and Celtic to Villa Park in their return to Europe’s elite club competition.Unai Emery’s Villans will be away to RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Young Boys and Monaco.Manchester City’s away days consist of clashes with Juventus, Sporting Lisbon, Slovan Bratislava and Paris Saint-Germain.The defending Premier League champions will host AC Milan, Club Brugge, Feyenoord and Sparta Prague at the Etihad.READ MORE SUN STORIESLiverpool were handed arguably the toughest draw, which includes away matches against AC Milan, Girona, PSV Eindhoven and RB Leipzig.The Merseysiders face difficult home matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid but will fancy their chances against Bologna and Lille. More

WELCOME to the brave new world of European football.More teams. More games. More prize money. More entertainment?The first draw of the new-look Champions League will take place tonightCredit: GettyTeams will no longer be drawn manuallyCredit: AFPCHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW LIVEThe draw for UEFA’s new-look Champions League takes place today in Monaco.For the first time in 21 years there will be some major changes to the competition – starting with the removal of the group stage.Here’s everything you need to know about the new world of European football and some points you may have missed.Read More in FootballONE LEAGUEIt’s au revoir to the group stage and bienvenue to UEFA’s new league table format.Rather than being separated into groups, all 36 teams will now feature in a single league table.They will play eight games minimum – up from six.The top eight get a bye straight through to the last-16.Most read in Champions LeagueBut teams who finish from ninth to 24th will face an extra two-legged play-off – taking their totals up to TEN games.AI GENERATED DRAWGone are the days of awkward ex-pros painstakingly fumbling around trying to open plastic balls during a snooze-fest of a draw — now, after the first team is pulled out manually, someone presses a button and AI does the rest.The human touch at least gave fans watching from home someone to blame for their club’s unfavourable group. It also let you see Joe Cole’s fear as he tried to say Borussia Monchengladbach.FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSTeams will be drawn by AI – not manually from potsCredit: EPAYet those groups rarely threw up pure drama, instead seeing the same old teams saunter through to the knockouts via at least one dead rubber.Uefa’s hope is that the new format will put an end to that.Champions League releases new anthem as fuming fans say ‘the beautiful game has died’Blockbuster ties should be more frequent, the jeopardy of failing to  qualify more intense, making for an all-round more exciting spectacle.The firm providing software for the Champions League draw has already assured fans it will be safe from potential hackers.After the first team is drawn manually from Pot One, a button will be pressed and that team’s eight opponents are calculated within seconds on a screen.The software will also have a number of “checkers” within the system to ensure that no team can face more than two clubs from the same country, and no team can play against each other from the same nation.POTS DO NOT MATTERPots are nowhere near as important this time around.Being in Pot One is no longer a certainty for a simple route to the last 16 for Pep Guardiola’s men — eyeing a second Champions League crown after their 2023 triumph.Premier League champions Man City are not guaranteed an easy routeCredit: GettyCity crashed out in the quarters last term on penalties to Real Madrid, yet there is no stopping AI from pitting these two heavyweights together in the opening few weeks.Arne Slot faces the unenviable task of emulating Jurgen Klopp in this competition, the German taking Liverpool to three finals in six years.Their presence in Pot One alongside City is welcome but not without challenges with Dutchman Slot set to experience some tasty Anfield nights earlier than his predecessor.EIGHT GAMES MINIMUMThe introduction of this new format will see teams play a minimum of eight games – two more than the original group stage format.With teams each playing two more “group-phase” games, this new Champions League will allow Uefa to sell a total of 189 matches instead of 125, with the league stage alone boasting 144 clashes, up from 96.Teams will be forced to play more gamesCredit: GettyIt’s hardly a format that Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane will be licking their lips over given the fatigue they showcased for England in the summer.The teams that finish between ninth and 24th will have to play an additional two Play-Off games.Those that finish 25th and below will be eliminated.NO EUROPA LEAGUE ENTRIESThe teams that finish below 24th will NOT earn a spot in the Europa League.READ MORE SUN STORIESInstead, they will be eliminated entirely.From the last 16 onwards, the Champions League will continue following its existing format.Teams will no longer drop down to the Europa LeagueCredit: GettyNew Champions League formatEach club will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots.They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the “country coefficient” chart each season. More