The Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has criticised the expanded format of the Champions League, claiming that players had not been consulted on adding two extra games to the group phase and adding that ‘maybe our opinion doesn’t matter’. The 2024-25 Champions League is the first to be run under the ‘Swiss system’, in which each team play eight matches in a group phase that will not finish until late January. ‘I think for the supporters it’s amazing,’ Alisson said. ‘More games, bigger games, big teams playing against each other. For us as players, it’s always a good idea to add some games to a calendar that is not busy. I am being ironic a little bit’. The goalkeeper then justified his position by adding: ‘What we want is to give our best for the football, if you are tired you cannot compete at a high level. I want to give my best in all the games I play but we need a solution.’
