One-off Euro clashes have been breath of fresh air

IT feels like everything has been turned upside down by one-off games that are concluding the Champions League. And I love it.

For a number of years now, European football has been too predictable. Especially in the top competition. What’s happened over the past week has been so refreshing. So why couldn’t we have this format again in the future? Some people at UEFA must be at least thinking about it. Because in my opinion it has been a huge success. Sporting drama has been delivered from the most unlikely of circumstances. We have been watching games with no atmosphere, no supporters, no hype — but the football has been fantastic and exciting.

Bayern Munich thrashing Barcelona 8-2 was just incredible. And then we had Lyon, not really one of the top teams in France last season, going out and beating Manchester City.

In the Europa League, there was a lot of pride in Denmark about how close FC Copenhagen ran Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Would we really have seen both Lyon and RB Leipzig in the Champions League semis if the ties had been two-legged? It would have been so much more difficult.

Of course, that unpredictability is one reason why many of the biggest clubs with the most money will probably hate this mini-tournament format. And I get that so much of what happens will be driven by finance. I’ve spoken to a number of former footballers about it and opinions are mixed.

Some are saying they can’t wait to get back to the old set-up. But for me, the idea of more one-off games when fans are back in stadiums has huge appeal. Let’s see if UEFA are prepared to be daring.