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.
 The NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv hosted the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 27 June – 23 August 2017 Competition proper: 12 September 2017 – 26 May 2018 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 79 (from 54 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Real Madrid (13th title) |
| Runners-up |  Liverpool |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 125 |
| Goals scored | 401 (3.21 per match) |
| Attendance | 5,821,673 (46,573 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 15 goals |
| Best player(s) |
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The final was played between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine. 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, 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. 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.
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). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
- 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. For this season:
- The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, qualified through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Champions League title holders was not necessary.
- The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Manchester United, did not qualify through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Europa League title holders was necessary.
Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, made their debut in the UEFA Champions League.
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.
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
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Distribution
In the default access list, the Champions League title holders entered the group stage. 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. 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 round | Teams advancing from previous round | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round (10 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (34 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round | Champions Route (20 teams) |
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| League Route (10 teams) |
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| Play-off round | Champions Route (10 teams) |
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| League Route (10 teams) |
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| Group stage (32 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (16 teams) |
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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).
- 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).
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 19 June 2017 | 27–28 June 2017 | 4–5 July 2017 |
| Second qualifying round | 11–12 July 2017 | 18–19 July 2017 | ||
| Third qualifying round | 14 July 2017 | 25–26 July 2017 | 1–2 August 2017 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 4 August 2017 | 15–16 August 2017 | 22–23 August 2017 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 24 August 2017 (Monaco) | 12–13 September 2017 | |
| Matchday 2 | 26–27 September 2017 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 17–18 October 2017 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 31 October – 1 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 21–22 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 5–6 December 2017 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 11 December 2017 | 13–14 & 20–21 February 2018 | 6–7 & 13–14 March 2018 |
| Quarter-finals | 16 March 2018 | 3–4 April 2018 | 10–11 April 2018 | |
| Semi-finals | 13 April 2018 | 24–25 April 2018 | 1–2 May 2018 | |
| Final | 26 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, 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. The first legs were played on 27 and 28 June, and the second legs were played on 4 July 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Víkingur Gøta  | 6–2 |  Trepça'89 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
Hibernians  | 3–0 |  FCI Tallinn | 2–0 | 1–0 |
Alashkert  | 2–1 |  FC Santa Coloma | 1–0 | 1–1 |
The New Saints  | 4–3 |  Europa | 1–2 | 3–1 (a.e.t.) |
Linfield  | 1–0 |  La Fiorita | 1–0 | 0–0 |
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). The first legs were played on 11, 12 and 14 July, and the second legs were played on 18 and 19 July 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
APOEL  | 2–0 |  F91 Dudelange | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Žalgiris Vilnius  | 3–5 |  Ludogorets Razgrad | 2–1 | 1–4 |
Qarabağ  | 6–0 |  Samtredia | 5–0 | 1–0 |
Partizan  | 2–0 |  Budućnost Podgorica | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Hibernians | 0–6 |  Red Bull Salzburg | 0–3 | 0–3 |
Sheriff Tiraspol  | 2–2 (a) |  Kukësi | 1–0 | 1–2 |
Spartaks Jūrmala  | 1–2[A] |  Astana | 0–1 | 1–1 |
BATE Borisov  | 4–2 | Alashkert | 1–1 | 3–1 |
Žilina  | 3–4 |  Copenhagen | 1–3 | 2–1 |
Hapoel Be'er Sheva  | 5–3 |  Honvéd | 2–1 | 3–2 |
Rijeka  | 7–1 | The New Saints | 2–0 | 5–1 |
Malmö FF  | 2–4 |  Vardar | 1–1 | 1–3 |
Zrinjski Mostar  | 2–3 |  Maribor | 1–2 | 1–1 |
Dundalk  | 2–3 |  Rosenborg | 1–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
FH  | 3–1 | Víkingur Gøta | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Linfield | 0–6 |  Celtic | 0–2 | 0–4 |
IFK Mariehamn  | 0–9 |  Legia Warsaw | 0–3 | 0–6 |
- 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. The first legs were played on 25 and 26 July, and the second legs were played on 1 and 2 August 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Slavia Prague  | 2–2 (a) | BATE Borisov | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Astana | 3–2 | Legia Warsaw | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Maribor | 2–0 | FH | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Vardar | 2–4[B] | Copenhagen | 1–0 | 1–4 |
| Celtic | 1–0 | Rosenborg | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 3–3 (a) | Ludogorets Razgrad | 2–0 | 1–3 |
Viitorul Constanța  | 1–4 | APOEL | 1–0 | 0–4 (a.e.t.) |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 1–1 (a) | Rijeka | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Qarabağ | 2–1 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Partizan | 3–5 |  Olympiacos | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCSB | 6–3 | Viktoria Plzeň | 2–2 | 4–1 |
Nice  | 3–3 (a) |  Ajax | 1–1 | 2–2 |
Dynamo Kyiv  | 3–3 (a) |  Young Boys | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| AEK Athens | 0–3 |  CSKA Moscow | 0–2 | 0–1 |
Club Brugge  | 3–5 |  İstanbul Başakşehir | 3–3 | 0–2 |
- 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. The first legs were played on 15 and 16 August, and the second legs were played on 22 and 23 August 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qarabağ | 2–2 (a) | Copenhagen | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| APOEL | 2–0 | Slavia Prague | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Olympiacos | 3–1 | Rijeka | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Celtic | 8–4 | Astana | 5–0 | 3–4 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–2 (a) | Maribor | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 3–4 | Sevilla | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Young Boys | 0–3 | CSKA Moscow | 0–1 | 0–2 |
Napoli  | 4–0 | Nice | 2–0 | 2–0 |
1899 Hoffenheim  | 3–6 | Liverpool | 1–2 | 2–4 |
Sporting CP  | 5–1 | FCSB | 0–0 | 5–1 |
Group stage
Benfica
Sporting CPLondon teams
Chelsea
Tottenham HotspurMadrid teams
Atlético Madrid Real MadridManchester teams
Manchester City Manchester UnitedMoscow teams
CSKA Moscow
Spartak Moscow 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. 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):
- Pot 1 contained the title holders and the champions of the top seven associations based on their 2016 UEFA country coefficients. As the title holders, Real Madrid, were one of the champions of the top seven associations, the champions of the association ranked eighth (Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk) were also seeded into Pot 1 (regulations Article 13.05).
- Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients.
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. For the first time since the 1997–98 edition, England's Arsenal did not qualify for the group stage.
| Tiebreakers |
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| Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 17.01):
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Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MU | BSL | CSKA | BEN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 15 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Basel | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | CSKA Moscow | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 9 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–4 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | |
| 4 | Benfica | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAR | BAY | CEL | AND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 4 | +21 | 15 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 3–0 | 7–1 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 15 | 3–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Celtic | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 18 | −13 | 3 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–5 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | |
| 4 | Anderlecht | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — |
Notes:
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ROM | CHL | ATL | QRB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roma | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 11 | 3–3 | — | 1–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | |
| 4 | Qarabağ | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | — |
Notes:
