The effects of eliminating away goals in the 2021/22 Champions League will soon be visible

DBasia.news – The 2021-2022 Champions League knockout phase offers a different story than previous seasons. It can not be separated from the absence of the away goal regulation.

The knockout phase of the Champions League will begin this midweek with the first leg of the 16th round being played. All contestants will definitely try to achieve the best results in order to maintain their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Usually, the majority of the first leg of the knockout phase is boring. That’s because almost all teams that play away games play more carefully and focus on not conceding goals.

This step was taken to avoid losses on away goals. Later they will appear all-out when acting as the host in the second meeting.

However, as of June 2021, UEFA abolished the away goals rule. This regulation applies to all European club competitions.

With this decision, UEFA hopes that all matches in the knockout stages will be interesting. Each club does not need to think about losses if they concede in the first leg.

However, this regulatory change also has the potential to cause adverse effects. One of them is the possibility of increasing the second leg match which must end with extra time until a penalty shootout.

If that happens, fatigue would increasingly become a threat to the players. It is possible that this new rule will actually create a new polemic.

One thing for sure is that more and more teams will be playing openly since the first leg. This is certainly something that football fans around the world want.