ONLY 189 MATCHES TO GO
Big Cup is back, and it’s bigger than ever. The new “league phase” format features four more teams than the old group stage, with each club playing an extra two fixtures – all of which means the total number of games required before handing the trophy to Real Madrid has increased from 125 to 189. What once seemed a distant flight of fancy became very real in August’s head-swivelling tombola, with fixtures spat out of Uefa’s super-computer by the dozen before you could say: “Is this a €uropean $uper £eague?”
