MONACO -- UEFA's new seeding rules began to have an effect at Thursday's Champions League draw. Guaranteeing the champions of the top seven associations (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and Russia) plus the reigning winner of the competition a place in Pot 1 -- rather than awarding the top seed spot to the top eight qualified teams according to UEFA rankings -- didn't amount to the seismic shift it might have been. Still, it benefited the likes of PSV Eindhoven and Zenit. At the same time, the teams who lost their Pot 1 status as a result of the new procedure -- Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal -- got away with more than reasonable draws.
Breaking down the Champions League draw
