Newcastle United were a great advertisement for the old Champions League format. They were also the victims of it. They look to be beneficiaries of the new system even if, once again, a trip to Paris might come at a cost to them.
Seventh with a game to go now, they are set for another tense final day of the first stage. Two years ago, and within the space of half an hour, they went from a position of Champions League qualification to seeming set for a place in the Europa League, to out of Europe altogether. That was second, third and fourth in Group F: there was a simplicity to a system of four teams in a pool. There was a viciousness, too: as Newcastle went from leading AC Milan to losing to them, there was no safety net.
