When Liverpool clinched the top spot in the inaugural Champions League league phase last season, it quickly became apparent that this achievement offered little extra advantage. However, UEFA has now made a contentious change to the tournament that alters this dynamic.
The governing body has unveiled new seeding regulations for the Champions League knockout stages, having previously announced that home advantage in second legs would be determined by merit rather than random draws - a departure from last season's approach.
According to ESPN, UEFA has now ratified these new seeding rules, although they have stopped short of giving full advantage to the teams finishing highest in the league phase.
Teams placed first, second, third and fourth are assured of playing at home for both the round of 16 and quarter-finals, provided they advance. If they are knocked out, the team that defeats them in the round of 16 will inherit their second-leg home advantage.
However, only the teams finishing first or second are guaranteed home advantage in the second leg of the semi-finals, assuming they make it that far.
Last year, Liverpool hosted the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain due to their league phase position, but were ultimately eliminated on penalties.
Under the Champions League draw, they would have been slated to play away in the quarter-final second leg against Aston Villa, but would have had a home draw for the semi-final second leg against Arsenal.
Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah watch on during the penalty shootout between Liverpool and PSG
Liverpool was knocked out by PSG in last season's Champions League (Image: Getty Images)
Under the revised rules, Liverpool would have hosted all second-leg matches in the knock-out stages due to their top-two finish, with PSG inheriting this privilege after eliminating the Reds.
This implies that if these regulations had been implemented last season, PSG would have hosted the semi-final second leg, despite finishing 15th in the league phase, as a result of knocking out Liverpool. Meanwhile, third-place Arsenal would have gained no advantage in the final four through their league position.
ESPN reports that these new rules create an imbalance, disadvantaging teams who finish third and fourth as they will never host a semi-final second leg.
Similarly, teams finishing fifth and sixth, while skipping the knockout phase play-offs and securing a home advantage for the round of 16 second leg, would then be away for the second legs of both the quarter and semi-finals.
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Only teams finishing in the following positions can host a semi-final second leg, due to the way the knockout phase draw is conducted: first, second, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th.
As a result, there's now a stronger incentive to secure a top-two finish, as Liverpool did last season.
However, if you don't finish in the top two, determining whether your league position offers much of an advantage in the knock-out stages becomes somewhat more complex.
Liverpool is already aware that they will be in pot one for the Champions League league phase draw on August 28.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.