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2018–19 UEFA Europa League

The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League was the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The final was played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan,[2] between English sides Chelsea and Arsenal – which was the first Europa League final to feature two teams from one city and was also the first time that 4 Premier League representatives (teams) were in both European finals. Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4–1 and earned the right to play against Liverpool, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. As winners, Chelsea would also have been qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage; however, since they had already qualified after finishing third in the Premier League, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the 2018–19 Ligue 1 (Lyon) – the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.[3]

For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition, where it was implemented in the final.[4]

As the title holders of the Europa League, Atlético Madrid qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, although they had already qualified before the final through their league performance. They were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by Juventus in the round of 16.

Format changes

On 9 December 2016, UEFA confirmed the reforming plan for the UEFA Champions League for the 2018–2021 cycle, which was announced on 26 August 2016.[5][6] As per the new regulations, all teams that are eliminated in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds will get a second chance in the Europa League.

Association team allocation

213 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[7][8]

Association ranking

For the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2017 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2012–13 to 2016–17.[10]

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

Distribution

In the default access list, originally 17 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path).[11][7] However, one fewer loser would be transferred since the Champions League title holders already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league. Therefore, only 19 teams entered the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round would be drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).[12]

In addition, originally three losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path).[11] However, one fewer loser would be transferred since the Europa League title holders already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league. As a result, the following changes to the access list was made:[12]

Redistribution rules

A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules:[8]

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[13]

Notably one team that was not playing a national top division took part in the competition; Vaduz (representing Liechtenstein) played in 2017–18 Swiss Challenge League, which is Switzerland's second tier.

Notes
  1. ^
    Albania (ALB): In March 2018, Skënderbeu was handed a 10-year ban from UEFA club competitions over match fixing.[14][15] Since they finished as champions of the 2017–18 Albanian Superliga, the runners-up of the league, Kukësi, entered the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League instead of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. As a result, their Europa League first qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Partizani.
  2. ^
    Armenia (ARM): Shirak would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2017–18 Armenian Premier League, but were penalized by the Football Federation of Armenia for match fixing,[16] and subsequently informed UEFA their withdrawal from competing in the Europa League.[17] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Pyunik.[citation needed]
  3. ^
    Estonia (EST): FCI Tallinn would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2017 Meistriliiga, but were disbanded and merged with Levadia Tallinn after the season.[18] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Narva Trans.
  4. ^
    Italy (ITA): Milan qualified for the Europa League group stage as the sixth-placed team of the 2017–18 Serie A, but were originally banned by UEFA from European competition due to violations of Financial Fair Play regulations.[19] They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the ban was overturned on 20 July 2018.[20][21]
  5. ^
    Kazakhstan (KAZ): Ordabasy would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the third-placed team of the 2017 Kazakhstan Premier League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[22] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Tobol.
  6. ^
    Moldova (MDA): Dacia Chișinău would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2017 Moldovan National Division, but were disbanded after the season.[23] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Zaria Bălți.
  7. ^
    Montenegro (MNE): Grbalj would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2017–18 Montenegrin First League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[24] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Rudar Pljevlja.
  8. ^
    Portugal (POR): Desportivo das Aves would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the winners of the 2017–18 Taça de Portugal, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[25] As a result, the third-placed team of the 2017–18 Primeira Liga, Sporting CP, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the fourth-placed team of the league, Braga, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Rio Ave.
  9. ^
    Republic of Ireland (IRL): Derry City are a club based in Northern Ireland, but participate in the Europa League through one of the berths for the Republic of Ireland (any coefficient points they earn count toward Republic of Ireland and not Northern Ireland).
  10. ^
    Russia (RUS): Tosno would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the winners of the 2017–18 Russian Cup, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[26] As a result, the fourth-placed team of the 2017–18 Russian Premier League, Krasnodar, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the fifth-placed team of the league, Zenit Saint Petersburg, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the sixth-placed team of the league, Ufa.
  11. ^
    Wales (WAL): Bangor City would have qualified for the Europa League preliminary round as the runners-up of the 2017–18 Welsh Premier League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[27] As a result, and because the third-placed team Connah's Quay Nomads were Welsh Cup winners, the berth was given to the fourth-placed team of the league, Bala Town.
  12. ^
    Champions League (UCL Q1): Cork City were drawn from the first qualifying round losers to receive a bye to the third qualifying round, as one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to a Champions League group stage berth vacated by the Champions League title holders.[28]

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).[29]

Matches in the qualifying (including preliminary and play-off) and knockout rounds could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

From this season, the kick-off times starting from the group stage were slightly changed to 18:55 CET and 21:00 CET. Kick-off times starting from the quarter-finals were 21:00 CEST.[11]

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying and play-off rounds, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients (for Main Path),[30] or based on which round they qualified from (for Champions Path), and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties.

Preliminary round

In the preliminary round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients,[30] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. The draw for the preliminary round was held on 12 June 2018.[31] The first legs were played on 26 and 28 June, and the second legs were played on 5 July 2018.

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 20 June 2018.[32] The first legs were played on 10, 11 and 12 July, and the second legs were played on 17, 18 and 19 July 2018.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round

The second qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and Main Path (for cup winners and league non-champions). The draw for the second qualifying round (Champions Path) was held on 19 June,[28] and the draw for the second qualifying round (Main Path) was held on 20 June 2018.[32] The first legs were played on 26 July, and the second legs were played on 31 July, 1 and 2 August 2018.

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and Main Path (for cup winners and league non-champions). The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 23 July 2018.[33] The first legs were played on 7 and 9 August, and the second legs were played on 16 August 2018.

Play-off round

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and Main Path (for cup winners and league non-champions). The draw for the play-off round was held on 6 August 2018.[34] The first legs were played on 23 August, and the second legs were played on 30 August 2018.

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Group stage

2018–19 UEFA Europa League is located in Europe
Rapid
Salzburg
Qarabağ
BATE
BATE
Anderlecht
Genk
Genk
Standard
Ludogorets
Dinamo Z.
AEK
AEK
Apollon
Jablonec
Slavia
Copenhagen
London
London
Bordeaux
Marseille
Rennes
Leverkusen
Eintracht
Leipzig
Olympiacos
PAOK
PAOK
Vidi
Vidi
Lazio
Milan
Astana (not on map)
Astana
(not on map)
2018–19 UEFA Europa League
Dudelange
Rosenborg
Sarpsborg
Sporting
Krasnodar
Spartak M.
Zenit
Glasgow
Glasgow
Spartak T.
Seville
Seville
Villarreal
Malmö
Zürich
Akhisarspor
Istanbul
Istanbul
Dynamo K.
Vorskla
Glasgow teams Celtic Rangers Istanbul teams Beşiktaş Fenerbahçe London teams Arsenal Chelsea Seville teams Real Betis Sevilla



class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Brown: Group A; Green: Group B; Deep Pink: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
Red: Group E; Cyan: Group F; Blue: Group G; Purple: Group H;
Pink: Group I; Turquoise: Group J; Spring Green: Group K; Orange: Group L.

The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2018 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[35] The 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams are seeded into four pots based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients.[30]

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 32 where they are joined by the eight third-placed teams of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage. The matchdays are 20 September, 4 October, 25 October, 8 November, 29 November, and 13 December 2018.

A total of 27 national associations were represented in the group stage. Akhisarspor, Chelsea, F91 Dudelange, Jablonec, Rangers, RB Leipzig, Sarpsborg 08, Spartak Moscow and Spartak Trnava made their debut appearances in the UEFA Europa League group stage (although Chelsea, Rangers, RB Leipzig and Spartak Moscow had already competed in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase after a third place in the UEFA Champions League group stage, while Rangers and Spartak Moscow had appeared in the UEFA Cup group stage). Akhisarspor and Sarpsborg 08 made their debuts in any European football. F91 Dudelange were the first team from Luxembourg to play in either the Champions League or Europa League group stage.[36]

Group A

Source: UEFA

Group B

Source: UEFA

Group C

Source: UEFA

Group D

Source: UEFA

Group E

Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Goal difference in all group matches: Vorskla Poltava –9, Qarabağ –11.

Group F

Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Goal difference in all group matches: Olympiacos +5, Milan +3.

Group G

Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Villarreal 4, Rapid Wien 1.

Group H

Source: UEFA

Group I

Source: UEFA

Group J

Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head goal difference: Sevilla +2, Krasnodar –2.

Group K

Source: UEFA

Group L

Source: UEFA

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:

Bracket

Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 17 December 2018.[37] The first legs were played on 12 and 14 February, and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 February 2019.

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 22 February 2019.[38] The first legs were played on 7 March, and the second legs were played on 14 March 2019.

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw, in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Chelsea v Dynamo Kyiv match in the same city.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2019.[39] The first legs were played on 11 April, the second legs were played on 18 April 2019.

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw, in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Chelsea v Slavia Prague match in the same city.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 March 2019 (after the quarter-final draw).[39] The first legs were played on 2 May, and the second legs were played on 9 May 2019.

Final

The final was played on 29 May 2019 at the Olympic Stadium in Baku. The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.[39]

Olympic Stadium, Baku
Attendance: 51,370[40]
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top goalscorers

Top assists

Squad of the Season

The UEFA technical study group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament.[42]

Player of the Season

Votes were cast by coaches of the 48 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 was announced on 8 August 2019.[43] The award winner was announced during the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage draw in Monaco on 30 August 2019.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Eden Hazard named Europa League Player of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Baku to host 2019 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Real Madrid and Spain top UEFA rankings again". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2018.
  4. ^ "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League knockout phase". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Evolution of UEFA club competitions for 2018–21 cycle". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Lyon to host 2018 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Access list for the 2018/19 UEFA club competitions" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "2018/19 UEFA Europa League regulations" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Timeline for UEFA Presidential elections decided". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Country coefficients 2016/17". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b c "Champions League and Europa League changes next season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Access list for the 2018/19 UEFA club competitions (modified)". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  13. ^ "2018/19 UEFA Europa League participants". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  14. ^ Lisaku, Ervin (29 March 2018). "Albania's Skenderbeu handed 10-year ban over match-fixing in worst ever UEFA punishment". Tirana Times.
  15. ^ Erebara, Gjergj (30 March 2018). "Albania's Skenderbeu handed 10-year ban over match-fixing in worst ever UEFA punishment". Balkan Insight.
  16. ^ "ՀՖՖ կարգապահական կոմիտեի 05.05.2018թ. որոշման կիրառման պարզաբանումը". Football Federation of Armenia. 19 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Termination Order" (PDF). Football Federation of Armenia. 5 June 2018.
  18. ^ "FC Levadia ja FCI Tallinn alustasid ühinemisprotsessi". Delfi Sport. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  19. ^ "AC Milan get two-year Europe ban over Financial Fair Play regulations". skysports.com. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  20. ^ "Milan in Europa League: accolto il ricorso al Tas". Corriere dello Sport. 20 July 2018.
  21. ^ "AC Milan v. UEFA: CAS annuls the sanction and refers the case back to UEFA to issue a proportionate disciplinary measure" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 20 July 2018.
  22. ^ ""Шымкент без еврокубков". Казахстанская федерация футбола отклонила апелляцию "Ордабасы"". Vesti.kz. 3 May 2018.
  23. ^ "FC Dacia Chișinău se desființează. Suporterii intenționează să salveze echipa" (in Romanian). deschide.md. 20 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Budućnost i Rudar idu u LE, Grbalj bez licence". rtcg.me. 31 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Desportivo das Aves candidatou-se à UEFA fora do prazo previsto". sapo.pt. 21 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Глава отдела лицензирования РФС: "Тосно" не подавал документы на лицензирование в еврокубках, по остальным информация скоро появится»" (in Russian). sportbox.ru. 10 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Decisions of the FAW Club Licensing Appeals Body". Football Association of Wales. 26 April 2018.
  28. ^ a b "UEFA Europa League second qualifying round champions path draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  29. ^ "2018/19 Europa League match and draw calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  30. ^ a b c "Club coefficients". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  31. ^ "UEFA Europa League preliminary round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  32. ^ a b "UEFA Europa League first and second qualifying round main path draws". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  33. ^ "UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  34. ^ "UEFA Europa League play-off draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  35. ^ "UEFA Europa League group stage draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  36. ^ "Europa League group stage number crunching". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2018.
  37. ^ "UEFA Europa League round of 32 draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  38. ^ "UEFA Europa League round of 16 draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  39. ^ a b c "UEFA Europa League quarter-final, semi-final and final draws". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  40. ^ "Full Time Summary Final – Chelsea v Arsenal" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  41. ^ a b "Statistics — Tournament phase — Players". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  42. ^ "UEFA Europa League Squad of the 2018/19 Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 May 2019.
  43. ^ "Europa League Player of the Season Contenders". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.

External links

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