PSG defeated Brest, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal on their way to the final
The Parisians beat Arsenal at home in the second leg of their semi-final clash
By WILL PICKWORTH
Published: 12:02 EDT, 2 June 2025 | Updated: 12:02 EDT, 2 June 2025
The Champions League rules are set to face a minor tweak for next season in the aftermath of PSG lifting this year's trophy.
The Parisians won Europe's elite club competition for the first time in their history on Saturday night when they thumped Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.
It capped an incredible rise for Luis Enrique's side, who came 15th in the League Phase before they beat Brest, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal on their way to the final.
However, from next season, UEFA will hand home advantage to the best teams from the League Phase throughout the knockout rounds.
This comes after Arsenal and Barcelona, who finished third and second respectively, suffered semi-final heartbreak having played the second leg of their ties away from home.
In 2024-25, clubs who finished in the top eight of the League Phase were guaranteed to play the second leg of their last-16 tie at home - which gives a clear advantage - but this was not the case for the quarter-finals or semi-finals.
The Champions League rules are set to face a minor tweak for next season after PSG's triumph
The highest-placed side in the League Phase will have home advantage in the second leg
Both Arsenal and Barcelona (pictured above) played their semi-final second legs away from home despite finishing higher than PSG and Inter Milan respectively in the League Phase
PSG (15th) beat Arsenal (3rd) in the semi-finals after the second leg was at the Parc des Princes while fourth place Inter hosted Barcelona (2nd) in the second leg of the other final four tie, before knocking out the Catalan giants.
But from next season, the standings in the League Phase will take on an increased importance.
The team that finishes the highest will play the second leg at home throughout the knockout rounds, meaning that Arsenal and Barcelona would have been guaranteed home advantage this time around when they were eliminated.
The alteration to the rules was agreed at a meeting between UEFA's club competitions committee ahead of Saturday's final and it now just needs to be ratified by UEFA's Executive Committee before the League Phase draw in late August.
Within the League Phase, the top eight teams already automatically advance to the last-16 while ninth to 24th place take part in a knockout play-off round.
Meanwhile, other discussions at the meeting included giving the higher-ranked club the choice about whether to play the second leg at home or away, before the move was made to go with automatic leg order.
There had also been speculation about whether extra time may be scrapped or if there would be regulations put in place to stop teams from the same country facing off in the knockout play-off round - as was the case with PSG and Brest this season - but nothing was agreed on these measures.
The new rules in regards to League Phase placing and having the second leg of knockout ties at home is expected to be replicated in both the Europa League and Conference League.