Libero 053: The Things That Matter As The Champions League Returns

16 Sep 2025 · 58 min · Episode 53

Episode Libero 053: The Things That Matter As The Champions League Returns

0:00 57:31

The Champions League is back. Or more specifically, the league phase, which starts with matchday one spread over the course of this week.

On today’s episode, Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson all look forward to this season’s competition and ask whether anyone will be able to challenge Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain for the crown. James explains why this might be the year that Antonio Conte makes an impression with his new-look Napoli side.

This will be the second year of the Champions League’s new format, where 144 games are played between September and January to trim 36 teams down to 24. What are the lessons of the new system? Does it mean there is less riding on each game? And does the tournament as a whole have the same weight and prestige in the era of the Club World Cup?

P1: (01:58)

P2: (34:08)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions

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