2018–19 CAF Champions League knockout stage

The 2018–19 CAF Champions League knockout stage were played from 6 April to 31 May 2019.[1] A total of eight teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League.[2]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advance to the quarter-finals.

Group Winners Runners-up
A Wydad Casablanca Mamelodi Sundowns
B Espérance de Tunis Horoya
C TP Mazembe CS Constantine
D Al-Ahly Simba

Format

Each tie in the knockout phase is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then extra time is not played and the winners are decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations III. 26 & 27).[2]

Schedule

The schedule of each round is as follows.[1] Effective from the Champions League group stage, weekend matches are played on Fridays and Saturdays while midweek matches are played on Tuesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times are also fixed at 13:00 (Saturdays and Tuesdays only), 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.[3]

Round First leg Second leg
Quarter-finals 6 April 2019 13 April 2019
Semi-finals 26–27 April 2019 4 May 2019
Final 24 May 2019 31 May 2019

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage is determined as follows:[2]

Round Matchups
Quarter-finals (Group winners host second leg, matchups decided by draw, teams from same group cannot play each other)
  • QF1
  • QF2
  • QF3
  • QF4
Semi-finals (Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, between winners QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4)
  • SF1
  • SF2
Final (Winners SF1 host first leg, Winners SF2 host second leg)
  • Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 20 March 2019, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.[4][5]

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                   
Horoya 0 0 0  
Wydad Casablanca 0 5 5  
  Wydad Casablanca 2 0 2  
  Mamelodi Sundowns 1 0 1  
Mamelodi Sundowns 5 0 5
Al-Ahly 0 1 1  
  Wydad Casablanca 1 abd. awd.
  Espérance de Tunis 1 abd. awd.
CS Constantine 2 1 3  
Espérance de Tunis 3 3 6  
  Espérance de Tunis 1 0 1
  TP Mazembe 0 0 0  
Simba 0 1 1
TP Mazembe 0 4 4  

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group could not play each other), with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups decided by draw.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CS Constantine 3–6 Espérance de Tunis 2–3 1–3
Mamelodi Sundowns 5–1 Al-Ahly 5–0 0–1
Horoya 0–5 Wydad Casablanca 0–0 0–5
Simba 1–4 TP Mazembe 0–0 1–4
CS Constantine 2–3 Espérance de Tunis
 Report
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Espérance de Tunis 3–1 CS Constantine
 Report
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)

Espérance de Tunis won 6–3 on aggregate.

Mamelodi Sundowns 5–0 Al-Ahly
 Report
Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal)
Al-Ahly 1–0 Mamelodi Sundowns
 Report
Attendance: 50,000

Mamelodi Sundowns won 5–1 on aggregate.

Horoya 0–0 Wydad Casablanca
Report
Wydad Casablanca 5–0 Horoya
 Report

Wydad Casablanca won 5–0 on aggregate.

Simba 0–0 TP Mazembe
Report
TP Mazembe 4–1 Simba
 Report

TP Mazembe won 4–1 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Wydad Casablanca 2–1 Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 0–0
Espérance de Tunis 1–0 TP Mazembe 1–0 0–0
Wydad Casablanca 2–1 Mamelodi Sundowns
 Report
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)
Mamelodi Sundowns 0–0 Wydad Casablanca
Report
Referee: Hélder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)

Wydad Casablanca won 2–1 on aggregate.

Espérance de Tunis 1–0 TP Mazembe
 Report

Espérance de Tunis won 1–0 on aggregate.

Final
Main article: 2019 CAF Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.

Wydad Casablanca 1–1 Espérance de Tunis
 Report
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Espérance de Tunis Abandoned[note 1] Wydad Casablanca
 Report
Attendance: 60,000

Espérance de Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned.

Notes
  1. With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad Casablanca which was subsequently ruled offside by the linesman. Due to a failure of the video assistant referee system, a review of the decision could not be conducted. Believing the goal was valid, Wydad Casablanca protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad Casablanca and awarded to Espérance de Tunis, securing them the CAF Champions League title.[6] However, on 5 June 2019 the CAF Executive Committee ordered a replay of the second leg at a neutral venue, requiring Espérance de Tunis to return the trophy and medals.[7] However, the decision to order a replay of the second leg was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 31 July 2019, who required CAF to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision.[8] On 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were again officially declared champions after the CAF Disciplinary Board ruled that Wydad Casablanca "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."[9][10]

References
  1. "Interclubs competition calendar; seasons 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21" (PDF). CAF.
  2. "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  3. "Friday & Saturday for Champions League, Sunday for Confederation Cup". CAF. 17 April 2018.
  4. "Moteab and Mboma to conduct Interclubs quarterfinals draw". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  5. "Last eight teams know their opponents". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  6. https://en.as.com/en/2019/05/31/football/1559332942_123937.html
  7. "Caf Champions League: Esperance ordered to return medals and face Wydad Casablanca again". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019.
  8. "Le Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS) annule la décision du Comité Exécutif de la CAF" [The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cancels the decision of the CAF Executive Committee] (PDF) (in French). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  9. "Espérance de Tunis declared valid winners of 2019 CAF Champions League". CGTN. 7 August 2019.
  10. "Decisions of the Disciplinary Board 7th of August 2019". CAF. 7 August 2019.
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