2021–22 Uefa Champions League
The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
 The Stade de France in Saint-Denis hosted the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 22 June – 25 August 2021 Competition proper: 14 September 2021 – 28 May 2022 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 80 (from 54 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Real Madrid (14th title) |
| Runners-up |  Liverpool |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 125 |
| Goals scored | 380 (3.04 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,402,255 (35,218 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 15 goals |
| Best player(s) | Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) |
| Best young player | Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) |
Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 1–0 in the final, which was played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, for a record-extending 14th European Cup title, and their fifth in nine years. It was originally scheduled to be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the hosts were shifted back a year, with Saint Petersburg scheduled to host the 2022 final. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine which commenced in February 2022, the final was eventually moved to Saint-Denis. As the winners, Real Madrid automatically qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage, as well as earning the right to play against the winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt, in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup and participate in the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, both of which they went on to win.
Chelsea were the defending champions, but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Real Madrid.
This season was the first since 1999–2000 (the first season after the dissolution of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) where three major European club competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and the newly created UEFA Europa Conference League) are organised by UEFA. No changes were made to the format of the Champions League, but teams that were eliminated from the preliminary round and first qualifying round of the Champions League were now transferred to the Europa Conference League instead of the Europa League.
On 24 June 2021, UEFA approved the proposal to abolish the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions, which had been used since 1965. Accordingly, if in a two-legged tie two teams scored the same number of aggregate goals, the winner of the tie would not be decided by the number of away goals scored by each team but always by 30 minutes of extra time, and if the two teams scored the same number of goals in extra time, the winner would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
Association team allocation
A total of 80 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein,[Note LIE] which did not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA association coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:
- Associations 1–4 each had four teams qualify.
- Associations 5–6 each had three teams qualify.
- Associations 7–15 each had two teams qualify.
- Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE] each had one team qualify.
- The winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League and 2020–21 UEFA Europa League were each given an additional entry if they did not qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League through their own domestic league. (As Chelsea, the Champions League title holders, did qualify through their own domestic league this season, the additional entry for the Champions League title holders was re-allocated.)
Association ranking
For the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2020 UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2015–16 to 2019–20.
Apart from the allocation based on the association 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
The following is the access list for this season. As the Champions League title holders, Chelsea, which were guaranteed a berth in the Champions League group stage, already qualified via their domestic league (as fourth place in the 2020-21 Premier League), the following changes to the access list were made:
- The champions of association 11 (Turkey) enter the group stage instead of the play-off round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 13 (Denmark) enter the play-off round instead of the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of association 15 (Czech Republic) enter the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round (Champions Path).
- The champions of associations 18 (Greece) and 19 (Serbia) enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round (Champions Path).
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round (4 teams) |
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| First qualifying round (32 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (26 teams) | Champions Path (20 teams) |
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| League Path (6 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (20 teams) | Champions Path (12 teams) |
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| League Path (8 teams) |
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| Play-off round (12 teams) | Champions Path (8 teams) |
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| League Path (4 teams) |
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| Group stage (32 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (16 teams) |
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Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- TH: Champions League title holders
- EL: Europa League title holders
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.: League positions of the previous season
- Abd-: League positions of abandoned season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe as determined by the national association; all teams were subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).
CC: 2021 UEFA club coefficients.
Notes
Schedule
All matches were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from the preliminary round final, which was played on a Friday, and the final, which was played on a Saturday. The third qualifying round second legs were only played on a Tuesday due to the 2021 UEFA Super Cup on the following Wednesday. Scheduled kick-off times starting from the play-off round were 18:45 (instead of 18:55 previously) and 21:00 CEST/CET.
All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, except the group stage draw, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 26 August 2021.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 8 June 2021 | 22 June 2021 (semi-finals) | 25 June 2021 (final) |
| First qualifying round | 15 June 2021 | 6–7 July 2021 | 13–14 July 2021 | |
| Second qualifying round | 16 June 2021 | 20–21 July 2021 | 27–28 July 2021 | |
| Third qualifying round | 19 July 2021 | 3–4 August 2021 | 10 August 2021 | |
| Play-offs | Play-off round | 2 August 2021 | 17–18 August 2021 | 24–25 August 2021 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 26 August 2021 | 14–15 September 2021 | |
| Matchday 2 | 28–29 September 2021 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 19–20 October 2021 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 2–3 November 2021 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 23–24 November 2021 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 7–8 December 2021 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 13 December 2021 | 15–16 & 22–23 February 2022 | 8–9 & 15–16 March 2022 |
| Quarter-finals | 18 March 2022 | 5–6 April 2022 | 12–13 April 2022 | |
| Semi-finals | 26–27 April 2022 | 3–4 May 2022 | ||
| Final | 28 May 2022 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis | |||
Qualifying rounds
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 8 June 2021, 12:00 CEST. The preliminary round matches, which consisted of two semi-finals on 22 June 2021 and the final on 25 June 2021, were originally to be played at Gundadalur, Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, but were moved due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Faroe Islands. The matches were instead played in Albania, with the semi-finals at Elbasan Arena, Elbasan and Niko Dovana Stadium, Durrës, and the final at Elbasan Arena.
The winner of the preliminary round final advanced to the first qualifying round. The losers of the semi-finals and final were transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Folgore  | 0–2 |  Prishtina |
HB Tórshavn  | 0–1 |  Inter Club d'Escaldes |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Prishtina | 2–0 | Inter Club d'Escaldes |
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 15 June 2021, 12:00 CEST. The first legs were played on 6 and 7 July, and the second legs were played on 13 and 14 July 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the Champions Path second qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Europa Conference League Champions Path second qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fola Esch  | 2–7 |  Lincoln Red Imps | 2–2 | 0–5 |
Slovan Bratislava  | 3–2 |  Shamrock Rovers | 2–0 | 1–2 |
Malmö FF  | 2–1 |  Riga | 1–0 | 1–1 |
Bodø/Glimt  | 2–5 |  Legia Warsaw | 2–3 | 0–2 |
Connah's Quay Nomads  | 2–3 |  Alashkert | 2–2 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
HJK  | 7–1 |  Budućnost Podgorica | 3–1 | 4–0 |
CFR Cluj  | 4–3 |  Borac Banja Luka | 3–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
Shkëndija  | 0–6 |  Mura | 0–1 | 0–5 |
Teuta  | 0–5 |  Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–4 | 0–1 |
Dinamo Tbilisi  | 2–4 |  Neftçi Baku | 1–2 | 1–2 |
Maccabi Haifa  | 1–3 |  Kairat | 1–1 | 0–2 |
Ludogorets Razgrad  | 2–0 |  Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Ferencváros  | 6–1 | Prishtina | 3–0 | 3–1 |
Žalgiris  | 5–2 |  Linfield | 3–1 | 2–1 |
Flora  | 5–0 |  Hibernians | 2–0 | 3–0 |
Dinamo Zagreb  | 5–2 |  Valur | 3–2 | 2–0 |
Notes
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 16 June 2021, 12:00 CEST. The first legs were played on 20 and 21 July, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 July 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Champions Path third qualifying round, while the League Path losers were transferred to the Europa League Main Path third qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb | 3–0 |  Omonia | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Slovan Bratislava | 2–3 |  Young Boys | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Legia Warsaw | 3–1 | Flora | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Alashkert | 1–4 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–1 | 1–3 |
Olympiacos  | 2–0 | Neftçi Baku | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Kairat | 2–6 |  Red Star Belgrade | 2–1 | 0–5 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | 1–4 | CFR Cluj | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Malmö FF | 4–3 | HJK | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Ferencváros | 5–1 | Žalgiris | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Mura | 1–3 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rapid Wien  | 2–3 |  Sparta Prague | 2–1 | 0–2 |
Celtic  | 2–3 |  Midtjylland | 1–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
PSV Eindhoven  | 7–2 |  Galatasaray | 5–1 | 2–1 |
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2021, 12:00 CEST. The first legs were played on 3 and 4 August, and the second legs were played on 10 August 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective path. The Champions Path losers were transferred to the Europa League play-off round, while the League Path losers were transferred to the Europa League group stage.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2–1 | Legia Warsaw | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| CFR Cluj | 2–4 | Young Boys | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Olympiacos | 3–3 (1–4 p) | Ludogorets Razgrad | 1–1 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1–2 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Malmö FF | 4–2 | Rangers | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Ferencváros | 2–1 | Slavia Prague | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSV Eindhoven | 4–0 | Midtjylland | 3–0 | 1–0 |
Spartak Moscow  | 0–4 |  Benfica | 0–2 | 0–2 |
Genk  | 2–4 |  Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Sparta Prague | 1–5 |  Monaco | 0–2 | 1–3 |
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2021, 12:00 CEST. The first legs were played on 17 and 18 August, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 August 2021.
The winners of the ties advanced to the group stage. The losers were transferred to the Europa League group stage.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull Salzburg | 4–2 | Brøndby | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Young Boys | 6–4 | Ferencváros | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Malmö FF | 3–2 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 3–0 | Dinamo Zagreb | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 2–3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–1 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Benfica | 2–1 | PSV Eindhoven | 2–1 | 0–0 |
Group stage
Lisbon teams
Benfica
Sporting CPMadrid teams
Atlético Madrid
Real MadridManchester teams
Manchester City
Manchester UnitedMilan teams
Inter Milan Milan 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 in Istanbul, Turkey, on 26 August 2021. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots, each of eight teams, based on the following principles:
- Pot 1 contained the Champions League and Europa League title holders, and the champions of the top six associations based on their 2020 UEFA country coefficients.
- Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2021 UEFA club coefficients.
Teams from the same association, and due to political reasons, teams from Ukraine and Russia, could not be drawn into the same group. Before the draw, UEFA formed pairings of teams from the same association (one pairing for associations with two or three teams, two pairings for associations with four or five teams) based on television audiences, where one team was drawn into Groups A–D and another team was drawn into Groups E–H, so that the two teams would play on different days.
The matches were played on 14–15 September, 28–29 September, 19–20 October, 2–3 November, 23–24 November, and 7–9 December 2021. The top two teams of each group advanced to the round of 16. The third-placed teams were transferred to the Europa League knockout round play-offs, while the fourth-placed teams were eliminated from European competitions for the season.
Sheriff Tiraspol made their debut appearance in the group stage. They were the first team from Moldova to play in the Champions League group stage.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MCI | PAR | RBL | BRU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–1 | 6–3 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 11 | 2–0 | — | 3–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 3 |  RB Leipzig | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 7 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–2 | |
| 4 | Club Brugge | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 4 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–5 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LIV | ATM | POR | MIL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 18 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 7 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 | Porto | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 5 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–5 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 | |
| 4 |  Milan | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AJX | SPO | DOR | BES | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 18 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 4–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 9 | 1–5 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 9 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | 5–0 | |
| 4 | Beşiktaş | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | — |
Notes:
