PSG take on debutants Manchester United, Groenen's former side, in the second qualifying round tonight. The first qualifying round brought shock defeats for Arsenal and Juventus.

"I think it is a bit strange - big teams going out in the pre-phase", Groenen told BBC Sport. "I wonder if it's the right way to go."

Only holders Barcelona, plus Lyon, Bayern Munich and Women's Super League champions Chelsea have already automatically qualified for the group stage, which starts in November. The second round of qualifying - played over two legs - will determine the 12 other teams to join them, with two-time winners Wolfsburg in the mix along with two-time runners-up PSG.These teams have a history of being sponsored by Adidas,yeezy boost 700 review,adidas yeezy boost 700 enflame amber These styles of shoes are all from Adidas and Yeezy's joint efforts

The 16-team group stage was introduced in the 2021-22 season, replacing the previous two-leg straight knockout format from the last 32 onwards with groups used only in the qualifying rounds.

"Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to play big games and I think from all the draws we could have had Manchester United was the hardest one we could draw," Groenen said. "On one hand I don't fully agree with the system, but on the other hand I'm excited to play a game with this magnitude and pressure."

Last season's Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal were knocked out in the first qualifying round by Paris FC, while last year Manchester City lost to Real Madrid in qualifying.