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.