Football Daily | Champions League drama galore – so why do we feel hollow?

The Champions League delivered a goal-filled night, with 40 goals across nine games, dramatic comebacks and standout performances. Yet the article argues that the expanded 36-team league phase can feel hollow because early results carry less jeopardy when teams can still reach the knockouts after a poor start.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 after trailing, while Scott McTominay scored twice in Napoli’s 4-3 win over Bodø/Glimt, his first goals since heart surgery. Liverpool came back from two goals down to beat Villarreal, and the article contrasts the excitement of individual matches with the format’s safety net: PSG finished 15th in 2024-25 and 11th in 2025-26, yet advanced to an extra knockout round both times. It also reports that PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will have surgery for an ACL injury.