The knockout phase of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League began on 18 February, and concluded with the final at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany on 12 May 2010.[1] The knockout phase involved the 24 teams that finished in the top two in each group in the group stage and the eight teams that finished in third place in the UEFA Champions League group stage.[1]
Each tie in the knockout phase, apart from the final, was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finished level, the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progressed. If away goals were also equal, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If goals were scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team qualified by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, there would be a penalty shootout after extra time.
In the final, the tie was played over just one leg at a neutral venue. If scores were level at the end of normal time in the final, extra time would be played, followed by penalties if scores remained tied.
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 final took place on 12 May 2010 at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany. A draw was held on 19 March 2010, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.[4]
^ ab"Format". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
^"Full Time Report"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Association. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
Note: Between the 1999–2000 and 2008–09 seasons, the competition was still known as the UEFA Cup. All seasons are included following the competition's absorption of the Cup Winners' Cup.
