One of the primary complaints about the new Champions League format, with no groups and one large, 36-team table, is that it's hard to figure out the stakes from week to week. There's plenty of truth in that concern. But we're four matchdays into the 2025-26 Champions League league phase, having hit the halfway point this week, and we can definitely find that plenty has changed since the competition began a couple of months ago.

Liverpool have stumbled, but if Tuesday's win over Real Madrid is any indication, might be righting the ship. Arsenal 's odds of a Premier League -Champions League double improve by the day. Bayern are reminding us all that if you win every match, you're going to win lots of trophies. And as a whole, we've seen far more early focus from the sport's heavywei

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