2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage
The 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 18 September and is scheduled to end on 12 December 2018.[1] A total of 32 teams compete in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League.[2]
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 30 August 2018, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[3]
The 32 teams are drawn into eight 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 the following principles (Regulations Article 13.06):[2]
- Pot 1 contains the Champions League title holders, the Europa League title holders, and the champions of the top six associations based on their 2017 UEFA country coefficients.[4] If either the Champions League or Europa League title holders are one of the champions of the top six associations, the champions of the association ranked seventh (and possibly eighth) are also seeded into Pot 1.
- Pot 2, 3 and 4 contains the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2018 UEFA club coefficients.[5]
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA emergency panel ruled that Ukrainian and Russian clubs would not be drawn against each other "until further notice" due to the political unrest between the countries.[6]
Moreover, the draw is controlled for teams from the same association in order to split the teams evenly into the two sets of four groups (A–D, E–H) for maximum television coverage. On each matchday, one set of four groups play their matches on Tuesday, while the other set of four groups play their matches on Wednesday, with the two sets of groups alternating between each matchday. The following pairings were announced by UEFA after the group stage teams were confirmed:[3][7]
- Spain: Real Madrid and Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Valencia
- Germany: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and 1899 Hoffenheim
- England: Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Liverpool
- Italy: Juventus and Internazionale, Napoli and Roma
- France: Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon
- Russia: Lokomotiv Moscow and CSKA Moscow
- Portugal: Porto and Benfica
- Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven and Ajax
The fixtures are decided after the draw, using a computer draw not shown to public, with the following match sequence (Regulations Article 16.02):[2]
Note: Positions for scheduling do not use the seeding pots, e.g., Team 1 is not necessarily the team from Pot 1 in the draw.
| Matchday | Dates | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 18–19 September 2018 | 2 v 3, 4 v 1 |
| Matchday 2 | 2–3 October 2018 | 1 v 2, 3 v 4 |
| Matchday 3 | 23–24 October 2018 | 3 v 1, 2 v 4 |
| Matchday 4 | 6–7 November 2018 | 1 v 3, 4 v 2 |
| Matchday 5 | 27–28 November 2018 | 3 v 2, 1 v 4 |
| Matchday 6 | 11–12 December 2018 | 2 v 1, 4 v 3 |
There are scheduling restrictions: for example, teams from the same city (e.g., Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid) in general are not scheduled to play at home on the same matchday (to avoid them playing at home on the same day or on consecutive days, due to logistics and crowd control), and teams from "winter countries" (e.g., Russia) are not scheduled to play at home on the last matchday (due to cold weather).
Teams
Below are the participating teams (with their 2018 UEFA club coefficients),[5] grouped by their seeding pot. They include:
- 26 teams which enter in this stage
- 6 winners of the play-off round (4 from Champions Path, 2 from League Path)
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Group winners and runners-up advance to round of 16 |
| Third-placed teams enter Europa League round of 32 |
| All other teams are eliminated |
|
|
|
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- Notes
- TH Champions League title holders, automatically placed into Pot 1 as top seed.
- EL Europa League title holders, automatically placed into Pot 1 as second top seed.
- CP Winners of play-off round (Champions Path).
- LP Winners of play-off round (League Path).
Format
In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams enter the Europa League round of 32.
Tiebreakers
Teams are 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 are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 17.01):[2]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Away goals scored in all group matches;
- Wins in all group matches;
- Away wins in all group matches;
- Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
- UEFA club coefficient.
Groups
The matchdays are 18–19 September, 2–3 October, 23–24 October, 6–7 November, 27–28 November, and 11–12 December 2018.[1] The scheduled kickoff times are 21:00 CET/CEST, with two matches on each Tuesday and Wednesday scheduled for 18:55 CET/CEST.[8]
Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DOR | ATL | BRU | MON | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 24 Oct | 28 Nov | 3–0 | |
| 2 |  |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | 6 Nov | — | 3–1 | 28 Nov | ||
| 3 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–1 | 11 Dec | — | 24 Oct | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 | 11 Dec | 1–2 | 6 Nov | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Club Brugge |
0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Monaco |
1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Atlético Madrid |
3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Borussia Dortmund |
3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | INT | TOT | PSV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 24 Oct | 11 Dec | 4–0 | |
| 2 |  |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | 6 Nov | — | 2–1 | 11 Dec | ||
| 3 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–4 | 28 Nov | — | 6 Nov | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 | 28 Nov | 1–2 | 24 Oct | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Internazionale |
2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| PSV Eindhoven |
1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NAP | LIV | PAR | ZVE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–0 | 6 Nov | 28 Nov | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 11 Dec | — | 3–2 | 24 Oct | ||
| 3 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | Transfer to Europa League | 24 Oct | 28 Nov | — | 6–1 | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | 0–0 | 6 Nov | 11 Dec | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | POR | SCH | GAL | LOM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to knockout phase | — | 28 Nov | 1–0 | 6 Nov | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1–1 | — | 6 Nov | 11 Dec | ||
| 3 |  |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | Transfer to Europa League | 11 Dec | 24 Oct | — | 3–0 | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | 24 Oct | 0–1 | 28 Nov | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
| Schalke 04 |
1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Lokomotiv Moscow |
0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Porto |
1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AJX | BAY | BEN | AEK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to knockout phase | — | 12 Dec | 23 Oct | 3–0 | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1–1 | — | 27 Nov | 7 Nov | ||
| 3 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | Transfer to Europa League | 7 Nov | 0–2 | — | 12 Dec | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | 27 Nov | 23 Oct | 2–3 | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
| Ajax |
3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Benfica |
0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Bayern Munich |
1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| AEK Athens |
2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LYO | MC | SHK | HOF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 27 Nov | 2–2 | 7 Nov | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1–2 | — | 7 Nov | 12 Dec | ||
| 3 |  |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Transfer to Europa League | 12 Dec | 23 Oct | — | 2–2 | |
| 4 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 1 | 23 Oct | 1–2 | 27 Nov | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Shakhtar Donetsk |
2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Manchester City |
1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Lyon |
2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CSKA | RM | ROM | PLZ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–0 | 7 Nov | 27 Nov | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 12 Dec | — | 3–0 | 23 Oct | ||
| 3 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | Transfer to Europa League | 23 Oct | 27 Nov | — | 5–0 | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 | 2–2 | 7 Nov | 12 Dec | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
| Real Madrid |
3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Viktoria Plzeň |
2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| CSKA Moscow |
1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Roma |
5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | JUV | MU | VAL | YB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 7 Nov | 27 Nov | 3–0 | |
| 2 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 | 23 Oct | — | 0–0 | 27 Nov | ||
| 3 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–2 | 12 Dec | — | 7 Nov | |
| 4 |  |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | 12 Dec | 0–3 | 23 Oct | — |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Juventus |
3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Notes
- ↑ CEST (UTC+2) for dates up to 27 October 2018 (matchdays 1–3), and CET (UTC+1) for dates thereafter (matchdays 4–6).
- 1 2 3 Tottenham Hotspur play their home matches at Wembley Stadium, London, instead of their regular stadium Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, due to delays with the construction of their new stadium.[11]
- 1 2 3 Shakhtar Donetsk play their home matches at Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, instead of their regular stadium Donbass Arena, Donetsk, due to the war conditions in Eastern Ukraine.
- ↑ The Lyon v Shakhtar Donetsk match was played behind closed doors due to punishment by UEFA.[14]
- 1 2 3 CSKA Moscow play their home matches at the Luzhniki Stadium instead of their regular stadium VEB Arena, Moscow.[15]
- ↑ The Manchester United v Valencia match, originally scheduled for 21:00 CEST, was delayed to 21:05 CEST due to late team arrival caused by heavy traffic.[16]
References
- 1 2 "2018/19 Champions League match and draw calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2018/19" (PDF). UEFA.com. 25 February 2018.
- 1 2 "UEFA Champions League group stage draw". UEFA.com.
- 1 2 "Country coefficients 2016/17". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Club coefficients". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ↑ "Emergency Panel decisions". UEFA. 17 July 2014.
- ↑ "Champions League group stage draw: all you need to know". UEFA.com. 29 August 2018.
- ↑ "2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Full Time Summary Matchday 1 – Tuesday 18 September 2018" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Full Time Summary Matchday 2 – Wednesday 3 October 2018" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ↑ Kilpatrick, Dan. "Tottenham confirm Wembley date for Manchester City match and stadium will stage Champions League group stage". Evening Standard.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Full Time Summary Matchday 1 – Wednesday 19 September 2018" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Full Time Summary Matchday 2 – Tuesday 2 October 2018" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ↑ "UEFA order Lyon to play Champions League game behind closed doors". ESPN. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ↑ "Luzhniki to host UCL games". PFC CSKA Moscow. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ↑ "PREVIEW Man United vs Valencia DELAYED: Live stream, TV channel, kick off time and team news in Champions League match". The Sun. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.