UEFA have decided on a tweak to the Champions League knockout stages next season that could affect Liverpool
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Alex Pantling - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
UEFA are to make a further tweak to the revamped Champions League in a change that will impact Liverpool's attempts to win a seventh European Cup. The Reds secured their involvement in next season's competition by romping to a 20th championship last month.
Liverpool reached the last 16 this term before losing on penalties to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain having finished top of the new-look league stage.
And in a significant alteration to the rules, should they repeat that feat next campaign they will be guaranteed a home second leg throughout the knockout rounds.
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In the season just finished, teams who finished in the top eight of the league stage progressed directly to the last 16 and had home advantage in the second leg against a team who had come through the play-off round.
After that, a draw took place to determine the order of games for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
For example, had Liverpool progressed against PSG, they would have played the second leg of their quarter-final away and the return game of a potential semi-final at Anfield.
From next season, though, the order of each knockout tie will be determined by which team finished highest up the table. They will automatically play the second leg at home.
ESPN report the change was agreed by UEFA's club competitions committee in a meeting ahead of Saturday's Champions League final in Munich, during which PSG embarrassed Inter Milan with a record 5-0 triumph.
They state there will be no further changes to the rules, despite suggestions extra time could have been scrapped and clubs from the same country would be prevented from playing each other in the play-off round, as happened with PSG who destroyed Brest 10-0 on aggregate to set up their tie with Liverpool.