AC Milan have zero points from their first two Champions League games, but they were tough matches on paper and there are still six left to play. So, where do the qualification hopes stand?
Milan’s 2024-25 European campaign has begun with a 3-1 home defeat against Liverpool where they were outplayed thoroughly and a 1-0 defeat away against the German champions Bayer Leverkusen where they were perhaps a bit unlucky.
Naturally, not getting a single point out of six is not an ideal way to start, but how does it affect the chances of progressing in the new ‘big league’ system?
A reminder of the format
We broke down exactly how the new Champions League works before the season began, but in terms of reaching the knockouts the easiest thing to explain is that the top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16.
Then, the team who finish from 9th to 24th place (therefore the 16 teams below) will compete in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League.
