Jamie Carragher has hit out at the new Champions League format after Liverpool discovered their next opponents.
The Reds secured a top-eight finish thanks to a 6-0 hammering of Qarabag on Wednesday evening, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring twice for Arne Slot's side.
Liverpool will bypass the play-off round thanks to their performances so far in Europe, meaning they are automatically through to the last-16 of the competition.
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Jamie Carragher expresses his anger over Liverpol's next Champions League opposition
After finishing 3rd in the league-phase standings, Liverpool were placed only behind Arsenal and Bayern Munich, but still face a stern test as they bid for another deep run into the competition's latter stages.
Carragher voiced his frustration on CBS, admitting he feels that due to the Reds' impressive results so far, they should have been given an easier opponent overall, with the new format preventing those kinds of handouts anymore.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher(Image credit: Getty Images)
“I’ve just found out who Liverpool’s potential opponents are. Honest to god, this new format, I’ve had enough of it," began the former Liverpool vice-captain.
“We finished top last year and we got Paris Saint-Germain. We finished third this year, listen to this: Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus and we finished third.”
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Of course, this sparked back and forth between the fellow CBS panellists, with former Manchester City star Micah Richards stating: “But you’re the mighty Liverpool?”
Carragher replied: “What I’m saying is, if you finish third, you can’t have them, you can’t have Atletico Madrid or Juventus in there. You know what, I bet you [Man City] have got like, I’ve never known a team so lucky with draws than Man City in my life. They get the FA Cup final every year because they play League Two clubs.”
Julian Alvarez centre-forward of Atletico de Madrid and Argentina celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the La Liga EA Sports match between Atletico de Madrid and Sevilla FC at Riyadh Air Metropolitano on November 1, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.
Atletico Madrid are on of the potential opponents Liverpool could now face in the last-16(Image credit: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After being told that City could potentially play one of Bodo/Glimt, Benfica, Inter Milan or Real Madrid, Carragher started laughing before saying, “I’ll take that.”
That then prompted Richards to call him a “big baby", with the pair left to quabble about Manchester City's results so far this season in Europe.
Do you agree that Liverpool should have been given a more favourable draw due to their positioning in the table? Or are you a fan of the new Champions League format? Let us know in the comments...