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]
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]
Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
Associations 52–54 each had two teams qualify.
Liechtenstein and Kosovo (association 55) each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Kosovo as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee).[9]
Moreover, 55 teams eliminated from the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League (default number was 57, but 2 fewer teams competed in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League).
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:
(UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
Association ranking for 2018–19 UEFA Europa League
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]
The cup winners of association 18 (Denmark) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
The cup winners of association 25 (Norway) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
The cup winners of associations 50 (Wales) and 51 (Faroe Islands) entered the first qualifying round instead of the preliminary round.
Access list for 2018–19 UEFA Europa League
Teams entering in this round
Teams advancing from previous round
Teams transferred from Champions League
Preliminary round (14 teams)
4 domestic cup winners from associations 52–55
6 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–54
4 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–51
First qualifying round (94 teams)
26 domestic cup winners from associations 26–51
30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein)
31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)
7 winners from preliminary round
Second qualifying round
Champions Path (18 teams)
15 losers from Champions League first qualifying round
3 losers from Champions League preliminary round
Main Path (74 teams)
7 domestic cup winners from associations 19–25
2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17
3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–15
9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
2 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 5–6 (League Cup winners for France)
4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (League Cup winners for England)
47 winners from first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Champions Path (20 teams)
9 winners from second qualifying round (Champions Path)
10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
1 losers from Champions League first qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path (52 teams)
6 domestic cup winners from associations 13–18
6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
37 winners from second qualifying round (Main Path)
2 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round
Champions Path (16 teams)
10 winners from third qualifying round (Champions Path)
6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path (26 teams)
26 winners from third qualifying round (Main Path)
Group stage (48 teams)
12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12
1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5
4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–4
8 winners from play-off round (Champions Path)
13 winners from play-off round (Main Path)
4 losers from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
2 losers from Champions League play-off round (League Path)
4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)
Knockout phase (32 teams)
12 group winners from group stage
12 group runners-up from group stage
8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage
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]
When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place".
When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place" if possible.
For associations where a Europa League place was reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners had already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place was taken by the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions.
Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[13]
CW: Cup winners
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
LC: League Cup winners
RW: Regular season winners
PW: End-of-season Europa League play-offs winners
UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
PO: Losers from the play-off round
Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round
Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round
Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
PR: Losers from the preliminary round (SF: semi-finals; F: final)
Qualified teams for 2018–19 UEFA Europa League (by entry round) Round of 32
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.
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.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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]
Schedule for 2018–19 UEFA Europa League
Phase
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Qualifying
Preliminary round
12 June 2018
28 June 2018
5 July 2018
First qualifying round
19 June 2018 (Champions Path) 20 June 2018 (Main Path)
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]
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.
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.
^ abcdeOrder 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.
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.
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.
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]
Tiebreakers
Teams were 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 were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 16.01):[8]
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 were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were 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);
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 32, the twelve group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records were seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage 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 round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, 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 and semi-finals 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).
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.
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.
^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.
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]
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.
