You're right that the worry is probably unnecessary given how much movement there is among 32 teams in only 8 games. The reality is UEFA just likes excuses to throw fancy parties.

If all the top seeds win the 1st round, you still basically end up with 1v16, 2v15, etc. Right? They complicate it by mixing 1/2, 3/4 in the bracket, so sometimes 1v15 (i.e LFC-PSG), but I think the intent is to prevent a situation where a team can finish in an exact spot to manipulate the bracket.

And he did it off the bench in just over 20 minutes.

Not nice?

Narrator: “He probably was, but we’ll call it inconclusive.”