Aggregate Rules for the Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is a soccer tournament played between the best clubs in Europe to decide the champions of the continent. The Champions League knockout stages are decided with both teams playing each other twice. As these are knockout games, there has to be a winner. Thus, the aggregate rules exist to ensure that each tie can produce a winner who progresses to the next stage of competition.

  1. Aggregate Rules

    • Each team plays every other team at home and away. In case of a tie between teams, the winner is the team that scored the most goals over the two matches. For example, if Manchester United defeats AC Milan 3-0 at home, but then loses 2-1 in the return leg, Manchester United wins by an aggregate score of 4-2.

    Away Goals

    • The away-goals rule exists as part of the aggregate rules in the event of a tied score after two games. Based on the belief that it is harder to win on the road than at home, if the scores are tied after the two matches, then the team that scored the most goals when away is the victor. For example, Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 at home, but then loses the return leg 3-0. This leaves a tied score of 4-4. Under the away-goals rule, Juventus is the winner because it scored one more away goal than Real Madrid.

    No Score

    • In the event that there is still a tie, as would be the case if both games were 0-0 draws, then the match will be decided first by a period of 30 minutes of added time. If no result is produced, there will be a penalty shoot-out between the two teams.