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2021–22 UEFA Champions League
European football tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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.[3] It was originally scheduled to be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.[4] However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the hosts were shifted back a year, with Saint Petersburg, Russia scheduled to host the 2022 final.[5] The final was eventually moved to Saint-Denis.[4] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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Association team allocation
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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:[8]
- 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.[9]
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
Distribution
The following is the access list for this season.[10] 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
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.[11]
The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).
Notes
- ^ Iceland (ISL): The 2020 Úrvalsdeild was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Valur (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League by the Football Association of Iceland.[12]
- ^ Liechtenstein (LIE): The seven teams affiliated with the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) all played in the Swiss football league system. The only competition organised by the LFV was the Liechtenstein Football Cup – the winners of which qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
- ^ Malta (MLT): The 2020–21 Maltese Premier League was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment, Hamrun Spartans, were declared champions but were subsequently banned from competing in European competitions for a match fixing case dating back to 2013. As a result, the second-placed team, Hibernians, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League by the Malta Football Association.[13][14][15]
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Round and draw dates
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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.[16]
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.[17]
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Qualifying rounds
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 8 June 2021, 12:00 CEST.[19] 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,[20] but were moved due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Faroe Islands.[21] 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.[22]
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.
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 15 June 2021, 12:00 CEST.[23] 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.
Notes:
- Losers drawn to receive a bye to the Europa Conference League third qualifying round.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 16 June 2021, 12:00 CEST.[24] 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.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 19 July 2021, 12:00 CEST.[25] 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.
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Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2021, 12:00 CEST.[26] 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.
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Group stage
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Madrid
Manchester
Milan
Lisbon
Lisbon teams
Benfica
Sporting CPMadrid teams
Atlético Madrid
Real MadridManchester teams
Manchester City
Manchester UnitedMilan teams
Inter Milan MilanLocation of teams of the 2021–22 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.
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.[17][27] 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.[9]
- Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2021 UEFA club coefficients.[28]
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.[29]
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
Source: UEFA
Group B
Source: UEFA
Group C
Source: UEFA
Notes:
Notes:
Group D
Source: UEFA
Group E
Source: UEFA
Group F
Source: UEFA
Group G
Source: UEFA
Group H
Source: UEFA
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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. As the draws for the quarter-finals onwards were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner was designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Benfica | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Ajax | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Benfica | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Inter Milan | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liverpool | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liverpool | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Villarreal | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Villarreal | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Juventus | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Villarreal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Bayern Munich | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 May – Saint-Denis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bayern Munich | 1 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liverpool | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sporting CP | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 5 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Atlético Madrid | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Atlético Madrid | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchester United | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid (a.e.t.) | 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Lille | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chelsea | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid (a.e.t.) | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 13 December 2021, originally at 12:00 CET.[30] The draw featured multiple irregularities: Manchester United were mistakenly included in the draw for Villarreal's opponent (both were in Group F), and subsequently were selected; another ball was then drawn, with Manchester City chosen instead. In the following tie, Liverpool were mistakenly included in the draw for Atlético Madrid's opponent (both were in Group B), while Manchester United were incorrectly excluded.[31] Later that day, UEFA voided the original draw due to a "technical problem" with the draw computer, and it was entirely redone at 15:00 CET.[32] The first legs were played on 15, 16, 22 and 23 February, and the second legs were played on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March 2022.
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2022, 12:00 CET.[33] The first legs were played on 5 and 6 April, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 April 2022.
Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 18 March 2022, 12:00 CET, after the quarter-final draw.[33] The first legs were played on 26 and 27 April, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 May 2022.
Final
The final was played on 28 May 2022 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. A draw was held on 18 March 2022, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.[33]
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Statistics
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Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.
Top goalscorers
Team of the season
The UEFA technical study group selected the following players as the team of the tournament.[36]
Player of the Season
Young Player of the Season
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European Super League controversy
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On 18 April 2021, UEFA, the Football Association, the Premier League, the Italian Football Federation, Serie A, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and La Liga learned of plans from several English, Italian and Spanish clubs to create the European Super League.[37] UEFA and the national associations announced that if such a league were to be established, its participants would be banned from playing in international and domestic competitions.[38] Later that same day, English clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur), Italian clubs (Inter Milan, Juventus and Milan) and Spanish clubs (Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid) announced the establishment of the Super League, putting them at risk of being banned.[39]
On 20 April 2021, Arsenal,[40] Liverpool,[41] Manchester City,[42] Manchester United[43] and Tottenham Hotspur[44] withdrew after the Football Association threatened to ban participating clubs from domestic football,[45] whilst Chelsea withdrew some hours later.[46] This led to the project's collapse,[47] as Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan followed the English clubs by withdrawing.[48] The Super League suspended its operations,[49] with the case to be taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to establish whether UEFA and FIFA have the exclusive right to organise competitions.[50]
On 7 June 2021, the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police notified UEFA and FIFA of the Spanish precautionary measure – which had earlier issued an injunction against UEFA and FIFA and referred a cuestión preliminar (English: preliminary question) to the CJEU on whether UEFA and FIFA have violated articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU[51] – ruling that neither governing body could not execute sanctions against Super League clubs.[52] On 15 June 2021, it was officially confirmed that the remaining three clubs (Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid) – which did not sign the Commitment Declaration of the sanctioned other nine clubs[53] and filed a new motion to scrap the agreement UEFA signed with those nine clubs[50] – were admitted to the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, pending the disciplinary proceedings UEFA opened against them but which were suspended after the Swiss notification.[54]
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See also
Notes
- The final, originally scheduled for 21:00, was delayed 36 minutes due to security issues with fans entering the stadium.
References
External links
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