The Champions League table now works like a single big league standings, not mini-groups like before. Each team’s position in that table decides who goes straight to the knockouts, who has to play play‑offs, and who goes out.

Basic idea

  • There are 36 teams in one overall league phase table (from 2024–25 onward). Each team plays eight different opponents (four home, four away), not everyone twice like a normal league.
  • The table shows the usual stats:
    • Played (P or GP)
    • Wins (W), Draws (D), Losses (L)
    • Goals For (GF), Goals Against (GA)
    • Goal Difference (GD = GF − GA)
    • Points (PTS: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss).

How positions decide qualification

UEFA uses the table to split teams into three main bands:

  • 1st–8th place
    • Go straight to the round of 16 (no extra play‑off).
    • These are basically the elite performers of the league phase.
  • 9th–24th place
    • Go into knockout play‑offs (two‑legged ties).
    • Higher‑ranked teams in this band are seeded and face lower‑ranked ones, with winners joining the top eight in the round of 16.
  • 25th–36th place
    • Are eliminated from the Champions League after the league phase.
    • They no longer “drop” into the Europa League via this table like in the old format.

Quick HTML view of the key zones

Since you asked for tables as HTML, here’s a simple conceptual example of how the zones are understood (not live data):

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Pos</th>
      <th>Zone</th>
      <th>What it means</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>1–8</td>
      <td>Direct qualification</td>
      <td>Straight into Round of 16</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>9–24</td>
      <td>Play-off spots</td>
      <td>Two-legged tie to reach Round of 16</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>25–36</td>
      <td>Eliminated</td>
      <td>Out after league phase</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

How the table orders teams

When teams are level on points, UEFA applies tiebreak rules to sort them in the table:

  • Goal difference across all league phase games.
  • Then goals scored.
  • Then other criteria (such as away goals, number of wins, disciplinary record, and UEFA club coefficient) if still tied.

So if two teams both have 11 points, the one with better goal difference (say +5 vs +2) will sit higher in the table.

What’s changed vs the old format?

Fans on forums often talk about how different this feels compared to the old group‑stage era:

  • Before 2024–25:
    • 8 groups of 4 teams, each playing 6 games (home and away vs the same three).
    • Top 2 into the round of 16; third place dropped into the Europa League.
  • Now:
    • One big league‑style table ; 36 teams, 8 games each vs different opponents.
    • The table ranking replaces “group winners/runners‑up” as the way to seed and qualify teams.

Mini FAQ

  • Why are some teams high with fewer games played?
    Because teams can have a different number of matches played at a given moment; the table updates live as games finish.
  • Do head‑to‑head results matter?
    In the new league phase, overall performance (goal difference, goals scored) is usually more important than traditional head‑to‑head, because teams no longer play every opponent twice.
  • Where can you see the official table?
    On UEFA’s official Champions League standings page, plus major broadcasters and sports sites mirror that layout.

TL;DR: The Champions League table is now one big 36‑team league‑style ranking. Points decide positions; the top 8 go straight to the last 16, places 9–24 play off to join them, and 25–36 are out.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.