Matt Maher: Big boys have time to recover from Champions League setbacks

That honour goes to Lille’s 1-0 triumph over Real Madrid, the first defeat the holders had suffered in any competition since January. Jonathan David grabbed the only goal from the penalty spot to seal a famous win for the French club.

Perhaps the one downside was both their victory and Villa’s were nowhere near so valuable as they would have been under the competition’s previous format.

It will not have mattered one iota to those home supporters inside either Villa Park or the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium. Jhon Duran’s audacious winner won’t ever be forgotten by those who witnessed it at the former.

But it is also true these rare group stage defeats were nowhere near so damaging or concerning to Bayern or Real than they would have been had they been required to face their victors in a reverse fixture.

In the old format, Bayern would have been under pressure to avenge Wednesday’s defeat back in Munich to make sure they topped the group.

Yet the new system, with eight fixtures against eight different opponents and everyone lumped together in a giant league table, removes the opportunity to directly damage the hopes of a rival, at least in the early stages of the opening phase.

By the time we reach matchdays seven and eight, there likely will be some direct face-offs between teams vying for top-eight finish and direct progress through to the last-16, or those scrambling to stay in the top-24 and snare a play-off place.

For now, however, there is a distinct reduction of jeopardy, the standings feel irrelevant and results less important than before.

Even those clubs who have lost their first two matches are a long way from out of it. In truth, they can probably afford to lose a couple more, with most models estimating three wins will be enough to seal a play-off place.

On Wednesday night, Aston and Lille were the places to be if you wanted to taste the magic but on the whole, this competition currently feels rather bloated and drama-free.