2017–18 UEFA Champions League

The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

2017–18 UEFA Champions League
The NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
27 June – 23 August 2017
Competition proper:
12 September 2017 – 26 May 2018
TeamsCompetition proper: 32
Total: 79 (from 54 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Real Madrid (13th title)
Runners-upEngland Liverpool
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored401 (3.21 per match)
Attendance5,821,673 (46,573 per match)
Top scorer(s)Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
15 goals
Best player(s)

The final was played between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine.[5] Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 to win a record-extending 13th title, their third title in a row and fourth in five seasons.

As winners, Real Madrid qualified as the UEFA representative for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, Atlético Madrid, in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, winning the former. Additionally, they would have been automatically qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage,[6] but since they had already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved was given to the champions of the 2017–18 Czech First League, the 11th-ranked association according to the 2018–19 access list.[7]This edition of the Champions League was particularly influenced by controversial refereeing decisions, such as two clear penalties not given to AS Roma in the semifinal. These controversies were among the reasons that pushed UEFA to introduce VAR in the competition starting from the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League.[8]

Association team allocation

79 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participated (the exception being Liechtenstein, which did not organise a domestic league).[9] The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[10]

  • Associations 1–3 each had four teams qualify.
  • Associations 4–6 each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 7–15 each had two teams qualify.
  • Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein) each had one team qualify.
  • The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League were each given an additional entry if they did not qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league. Because a maximum of five teams from one association could enter the Champions League, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders were from the same top three ranked association and finished outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association was moved to the Europa League.[11] For this season:

Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, made their debut in the UEFA Champions League.[12][13]

Association ranking

For the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16.[14][15]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

  • (UEL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders
RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes
1 Spain105.7134
2 Germany80.177
3 England76.284+1 (UEL)
4 Italy70.4393
5 Portugal53.082
6 France52.749
7 Russia51.0822
8 Ukraine44.883
9 Belgium40.000
10 Netherlands35.563
11 Turkey34.600
12 Switzerland33.775
13 Czech Republic32.925
14 Greece29.700
15 Romania25.383
16 Austria25.1001
17 Croatia23.875
18 Poland22.500
19 Cyprus22.175
RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes
20 Belarus20.0001
21 Sweden19.875
22 Norway19.250
23 Israel18.625
24 Denmark18.600
25 Scotland17.300
26 Azerbaijan14.875
27 Serbia14.625
28 Kazakhstan14.125
29 Bulgaria13.125
30 Slovenia13.125
31 Slovakia12.000
32 Liechtenstein10.5000
33 Hungary9.8751
34 Moldova9.125
35 Iceland8.750
36 Georgia8.125
37 Finland7.400
RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes
38 Bosnia and Herzegovina7.1251
39 Albania6.625
40 Macedonia6.000
41 Republic of Ireland5.450
42 Latvia5.375
43 Luxembourg5.250
44 Montenegro4.875
45 Lithuania4.625
46 Northern Ireland4.500
47 Estonia4.250
48 Armenia4.125
49 Faroe Islands3.625
50 Malta3.583
51 Wales3.500
52 Gibraltar1.000
53 Andorra0.999
54 San Marino0.333
55 Kosovo0.000

Distribution

In the default access list, the Champions League title holders entered the group stage.[13] However, since Real Madrid already qualified for the group stage (as the champions of the 2016–17 La Liga), the Champions League title holders berth in the group stage was given to the Europa League title holders, Manchester United.[16][17][18][19] and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:

  • The third-placed teams of associations 4 (Italy) and 5 (Portugal) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.
Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(10 teams)
  • 10 champions from associations 46–55
Second qualifying round
(34 teams)
  • 29 champions from associations 16–45 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 5 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying roundChampions Route
(20 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 13–15
  • 17 winners from the second qualifying round
League Route
(10 teams)
  • 9 runners-up from associations 7–15
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off roundChampions Route
(10 teams)
  • 10 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Route)
League Route
(10 teams)
  • 2 third-placed teams from associations 4–5
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round (League Route)
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • Europa League title holders
  • 12 champions from associations 1–12
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Route)
  • 5 winners from the play-off round (League Route)
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season qualified via league position shown in parentheses. Manchester United qualified as Europa League title holders. (TH: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).[20][21]

Group stage
Real MadridTH (1st) Borussia Dortmund (3rd) Benfica (1st) Anderlecht (1st)
Manchester United (EL) Chelsea (1st) Porto (2nd) Feyenoord (1st)
Barcelona (2nd) Tottenham Hotspur (2nd) Monaco (1st)[Note FRA] Beşiktaş (1st)
Atlético Madrid (3rd) Manchester City (3rd) Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) Basel (1st)
Bayern Munich (1st) Juventus (1st) Spartak Moscow (1st)
RB Leipzig (2nd) Roma (2nd) Shakhtar Donetsk (1st)
Play-off round
Champions RouteLeague Route
Sevilla (4th) Liverpool (4th) Sporting CP (3rd)
1899 Hoffenheim (4th) Napoli (3rd)
Third qualifying round
Champions RouteLeague Route
Slavia Prague (1st) Nice (3rd) Ajax (2nd) AEK Athens (2nd)
Olympiacos (1st) CSKA Moscow (2nd) İstanbul Başakşehir (2nd) FCSB (2nd)
Viitorul Constanța (1st) Dynamo Kyiv (2nd) Young Boys (2nd)
Club Brugge (2nd) Viktoria Plzeň (2nd)
Second qualifying round
Red Bull Salzburg (1st) Copenhagen (1st) Honvéd (1st) Dundalk (1st)
Rijeka (1st) Celtic (1st) Sheriff Tiraspol (1st) Spartaks Jūrmala (1st)
Legia Warsaw (1st) Qarabağ (1st) FH (1st) F91 Dudelange (1st)
APOEL (1st) Partizan (1st) Samtredia (1st) Budućnost Podgorica (1st)
BATE Borisov (1st) Astana (1st) IFK Mariehamn (1st) Žalgiris Vilnius (1st)
Malmö FF (1st) Ludogorets Razgrad (1st) Zrinjski Mostar (1st)
Rosenborg (1st) Maribor (1st) Kukësi (1st)
Hapoel Be'er Sheva (1st) Žilina (1st) Vardar (1st)
First qualifying round
Linfield (1st) Víkingur Gøta (1st) Europa FC (1st) Trepça'89 (1st)
FCI Tallinn (1st) Hibernians (1st) FC Santa Coloma (1st)
Alashkert (1st) The New Saints (1st) La Fiorita (1st)
Notes

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[13][22][23]

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
QualifyingFirst qualifying round19 June 201727–28 June 20174–5 July 2017
Second qualifying round11–12 July 201718–19 July 2017
Third qualifying round14 July 201725–26 July 20171–2 August 2017
Play-offPlay-off round4 August 201715–16 August 201722–23 August 2017
Group stageMatchday 124 August 2017
(Monaco)
12–13 September 2017
Matchday 226–27 September 2017
Matchday 317–18 October 2017
Matchday 431 October – 1 November 2017
Matchday 521–22 November 2017
Matchday 65–6 December 2017
Knockout phaseRound of 1611 December 201713–14 & 20–21 February 20186–7 & 13–14 March 2018
Quarter-finals16 March 20183–4 April 201810–11 April 2018
Semi-finals13 April 201824–25 April 20181–2 May 2018
Final26 May 2018 at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients,[24][25][26] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 19 June 2017, 12:00 CEST.[27]The first legs were played on 27 and 28 June, and the second legs were played on 4 July 2017.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Víkingur Gøta 6–2 Trepça'892–14–1
Hibernians 3–0 FCI Tallinn2–01–0
Alashkert 2–1 FC Santa Coloma1–01–1
The New Saints 4–3 Europa1–23–1 (a.e.t.)
Linfield 1–0 La Fiorita1–00–0

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2017, 12:00 CEST (after the completion of the first qualifying round draw).[27]The first legs were played on 11, 12 and 14 July, and the second legs were played on 18 and 19 July 2017.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
APOEL 2–0 F91 Dudelange1–01–0
Žalgiris Vilnius 3–5 Ludogorets Razgrad2–11–4
Qarabağ 6–0 Samtredia5–01–0
Partizan 2–0 Budućnost Podgorica2–00–0
Hibernians 0–6 Red Bull Salzburg0–30–3
Sheriff Tiraspol 2–2 (a) Kukësi1–01–2
Spartaks Jūrmala 1–2[A] Astana0–11–1
BATE Borisov 4–2 Alashkert1–13–1
Žilina 3–4 Copenhagen1–32–1
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5–3 Honvéd2–13–2
Rijeka 7–1 The New Saints2–05–1
Malmö FF 2–4 Vardar1–11–3
Zrinjski Mostar 2–3 Maribor1–21–1
Dundalk 2–3 Rosenborg1–11–2 (a.e.t.)
FH 3–1 Víkingur Gøta1–12–0
Linfield 0–6 Celtic0–20–4
IFK Mariehamn 0–9 Legia Warsaw0–30–6
Notes

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 14 July 2017, 12:00 CEST.[28]The first legs were played on 25 and 26 July, and the second legs were played on 1 and 2 August 2017.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Route
Slavia Prague 2–2 (a) BATE Borisov1–01–2
Astana 3–2 Legia Warsaw3–10–1
Maribor 2–0 FH1–01–0
Vardar 2–4[B] Copenhagen1–01–4
Celtic 1–0 Rosenborg0–01–0
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3–3 (a) Ludogorets Razgrad2–01–3
Viitorul Constanța 1–4 APOEL1–00–4 (a.e.t.)
Red Bull Salzburg 1–1 (a) Rijeka1–10–0
Qarabağ 2–1 Sheriff Tiraspol0–02–1
Partizan 3–5 Olympiacos1–32–2
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
League Route
FCSB 6–3 Viktoria Plzeň2–24–1
Nice 3–3 (a) Ajax1–12–2
Dynamo Kyiv 3–3 (a) Young Boys3–10–2
AEK Athens 0–3 CSKA Moscow0–20–1
Club Brugge 3–5 İstanbul Başakşehir3–30–2
Notes

Play-off round

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage.

The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2017, 12:00 CEST.[29]The first legs were played on 15 and 16 August, and the second legs were played on 22 and 23 August 2017.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Route
Qarabağ 2–2 (a) Copenhagen1–01–2
APOEL 2–0 Slavia Prague2–00–0
Olympiacos 3–1 Rijeka2–11–0
Celtic 8–4 Astana5–03–4
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–2 (a) Maribor2–10–1
Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
League Route
İstanbul Başakşehir 3–4 Sevilla1–22–2
Young Boys 0–3 CSKA Moscow0–10–2
Napoli 4–0 Nice2–02–0
1899 Hoffenheim 3–6 Liverpool1–22–4
Sporting CP 5–1 FCSB0–05–1

Group stage

Location of teams of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H.

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 August 2017, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[30] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on the following principles (introduced starting 2015–16 season):[31][32]

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League round of 32. The matchdays were 12–13 September, 26–27 September, 17–18 October, 31 October – 1 November, 21–22 November, and 5–6 December 2017.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualified for the group stage also participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League on the same matchdays, where they competed in the UEFA Champions League Path (the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations competed in a separate Domestic Champions Path until the play-offs).

Seventeen national associations were represented in the group stage. Qarabağ and RB Leipzig made their debut appearances in the group stage. Qarabağ were the first team from Azerbaijan to play in the Champions League group stage.[33] For the first time since the 1997–98 edition, England's Arsenal did not qualify for the group stage.

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification MU BSL CSKA BEN
1 Manchester United6501123+915Advance to knockout phase3–02–12–0
2 Basel6402115+6121–01–25–0
3 CSKA Moscow6303810−29Transfer to Europa League1–40–22–0
4 Benfica6006114−1300–10–21–2
Source: UEFA

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification PAR BAY CEL AND
1 Paris Saint-Germain6501254+2115[a]Advance to knockout phase3–07–15–0
2 Bayern Munich6501136+715[a]3–13–03–0
3 Celtic6105518−133[b]Transfer to Europa League0–51–20–1
4 Anderlecht6105217−153[b]0–41–20–3
Source: UEFA
Notes:

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification ROM CHL ATL QRB
1 Roma632196+311[a]Advance to knockout phase3–00–01–0
2 Chelsea6321168+811[a]3–31–16–0
3 Atlético Madrid614154+17Transfer to Europa League2–01–21–1
4 Qarabağ6024214−1221–20–40–0
Source: UEFA
Notes:

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification BAR JUV SPO OLY
1 Barcelona642091+814Advance to knockout phase3–02–03–1
2 Juventus632175+2110–02–12–0
3 Sporting CP621389−17Transfer to Europa League0–11–13–1
4 Olympiacos6015413−910–00–22–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification LIV SEV SPM MRB
1 Liverpool6330236+1712Advance to knockout phase2–27–03–0
2 Sevilla62311212093–32–13–0
3 Spartak Moscow6132913−46Transfer to Europa League1–15–11–1
4 Maribor6033316−1330–71–11–1
Source: UEFA

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification MC SHK NAP FEY
1 Manchester City6501145+915Advance to knockout phase2–02–11–0
2 Shakhtar Donetsk6402990122–12–13–1
3 Napoli6204111106Transfer to Europa League2–43–03–1
4 Feyenoord6105514−930–41–22–1
Source: UEFA

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification BES POR RBL MON
1 Beşiktaş6420115+614Advance to knockout phase1–12–01–1
2 Porto63121510+5101–33–15–2
3 RB Leipzig62131011−17Transfer to Europa League1–23–21–1
4 Monaco6024616−1021–20–31–4
Source: UEFA

Group H

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification TOT RM DOR APO
1 Tottenham Hotspur6510154+1116Advance to knockout phase3–13–13–0
2 Real Madrid6411177+10131–13–23–0
3 Borussia Dortmund6024713−62[a]Transfer to Europa League1–21–31–1
4 APOEL6024217−152[a]0–30–61–1
Source: UEFA
Notes:

Knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

  • In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association could not be drawn against each other.
  • In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other.

Bracket

Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
              
Sevilla022
Manchester United011
Sevilla101
Bayern Munich202
Bayern Munich538
Beşiktaş011
Bayern Munich123
Real Madrid224
Juventus224
Tottenham Hotspur213
Juventus033
Real Madrid314
Real Madrid325
Paris Saint-Germain112
Real Madrid3
Liverpool1
Porto000
Liverpool505
Liverpool325
Manchester City011
Basel022
Manchester City415
Liverpool527
Roma246
Chelsea101
Barcelona134
Barcelona404
Roma (a)134
Shakhtar Donetsk202
Roma (a)112

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 11 December 2017, 12:00 CET.[34]The first legs were played on 13, 14, 20 and 21 February, and the second legs were played on 6, 7, 13 and 14 March 2018.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Juventus 4–3 Tottenham Hotspur2–22–1
Basel 2–5 Manchester City0–42–1
Porto 0–5 Liverpool0–50–0
Sevilla 2–1 Manchester United0–02–1
Real Madrid 5–2 Paris Saint-Germain3–12–1
Shakhtar Donetsk 2–2 (a) Roma2–10–1
Chelsea 1–4 Barcelona1–10–3
Bayern Munich 8–1 Beşiktaş5–03–1

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 16 March 2018, 12:00 CET.[35][36]The first legs were played on 3 and 4 April, and the second legs were played on 10 and 11 April 2018.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Barcelona 4–4 (a) Roma4–10–3
Sevilla 1–2 Bayern Munich1–20–0
Juventus 3–4 Real Madrid0–33–1
Liverpool 5–1 Manchester City3–02–1

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 13 April 2018, 13:00 CEST.[37]The first legs were played on 24 and 25 April, and the second legs were played on 1 and 2 May 2018.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Bayern Munich 3–4 Real Madrid1–22–2
Liverpool 7–6 Roma5–22–4

Final

The final was played at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv on 26 May 2018. The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw.[37]

Real Madrid 3–1 Liverpool
  • Benzema 51'
  • Bale 63', 83'
Report

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top goalscorers

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo finished the tournament as the top goalscorer, having scored 15 goals.
Rank[39]PlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played
1 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid151170
2 Mohamed Salah Liverpool10930
Sadio Mané Liverpool940
Roberto Firmino Liverpool1056
5 Wissam Ben Yedder Sevilla8651
Edin Džeko Roma1078
7 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur7597
Edinson Cavani Paris Saint-Germain680
9 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain6630
Lionel Messi Barcelona783

Squad of the season

The UEFA technical study group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament.[40]

Pos.PlayerTeam
GK Keylor Navas Real Madrid
Alisson Roma
DF Joshua Kimmich Bayern Munich
Sergio Ramos Real Madrid
Marcelo Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini Juventus
Virgil van Dijk Liverpool
Raphaël Varane Real Madrid
MF Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City
Casemiro Real Madrid
Luka Modrić Real Madrid
Toni Kroos Real Madrid
James Rodríguez Bayern Munich
FW Edin Džeko Roma
Roberto Firmino Liverpool
Lionel Messi Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Mohamed Salah Liverpool

Players of the season

Votes were cast for players of the season by coaches of the 32 teams in the group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA's member associations. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. Jury members selected their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The shortlist of the top three players were announced on 9 August 2018.[41] The award winners were announced and presented during the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on 30 August 2018.

See also

References

External links