The fixtures for the top teams in this season's new-look UEFA Champions League, in which all 36 participants will participate in a single league and face eight different opponents, were revealed in Monaco. Over the years, UEFA has been under pressure to produce more from the flagship event in club football, so it decided to replace the conventional group stage with a new single-standing league phase.

The first new Champions League structure since 2003 provides nearly everything Europe's richest and most powerful clubs desired. There are four additional spots in a 36-team lineup; at least eight games per team instead of six; Champions League games planned in January for the first time; and, to top it all off, a prize money increase of at least 25% to a minimum of 2.5 billion euro.