FOOTBALL fans were impressed by a brand-new way of watching the Champions League during the tournament's opening night.
Broadcaster Prime Video gave fans a new perspective of the game thanks to its data-filled Prime Vision tool for Tottenham vs Villarreal.
The new FIFA-style graphics gave fans real-time statistics during the match.
Those stats included a pitch-map, AI generated functions that identified which player was on the ball and their most likely passing options and labels that showed the speed of sprints, measured long passes and showed the speed of shots.
The new tech, which was built on a similar version developed by Prime for their “Thursday Night Football” coverage of the NFL, was a hit with fans watching on from home.
On social media, one fan wrote: "Just watching the new prime vision, it’s good insight for something different when watching. Keep it up, I'm impressed."
Another added: "That Prime Vision coverage of the football is actually really clever. Just needs a player to glitch out and you'd think you were playing FIFA."
A third posted: "Big fan of this Prime Vision."
And fourth gushed: "Absolutely loving Prime Vision so far."
Others felt the new introduction was a great start but needed to work out a few kinks before they would commit to watching the format for every game.
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One fan at home wrote: "Prime Vision has got potential, they just need to dial it down a bit.
"I don’t need to know Richarlison jumped 7.7 yards off the floor to do a defensive header."
And a second commented: "Not sure I can get behind this yet".
For those that aren't sold on the tech, which uses 22 different cameras to get the data for fans, Prime is still offering their usual coverage exactly as it was before.
Andrew Hornett, Prime’s director of live production, explained: “We wanted to give the viewers something that innovates with a purpose, rather than just looks pretty.
“This is an alternative that doesn’t disrupt the main viewing experience but offers a new perspective.
“It’s something unique for European football and is designed for the fans who are really interested in tactics without being super-nerdy.”
Hornett added: "We know that this will not be for everyone but we want to deliver something that really enhances what fans can see.”