2014–15 UEFA Champions League

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2014–15 UEFA Champions League
Juventus
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored361 (2.89 per match)
Attendance5,136,695 (41,094 per match)
Top scorer(s)Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
10 goals each

The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

The

Juventus in the semi-finals
.

This season was the first where clubs must comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in order to participate.[3] Moreover, this season was the first where a club from Gibraltar competed in the tournament, after the Gibraltar Football Association was accepted as the 54th UEFA member at the UEFA Congress in May 2013.[4] They were granted one spot in the Champions League,[5] which was taken by Lincoln Red Imps, the champions of the 2013–14 Gibraltar Premier Division.[6]

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

2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[8] The rules regarding suspension due to yellow card accumulation were also changed such that all bookings expired on completion of the quarter-finals and were not carried forward to the semi-finals.[9] Moreover, this was the first season in which vanishing spray was used.[10]

Association team allocation

A total of 77 teams from 53 of the 54

UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[11]

  • Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify.
  • Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify.
  • Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify.
  • Associations 16–54 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.

The winners of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League were given an additional entry as title holders if they would not qualify for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league (because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, if the title holders are from the top three associations and finish outside the top four in their domestic league, the title holders' entry comes at the expense of the fourth-placed team of their association). However, this additional entry was not necessary for this season since the title holders qualified for the tournament through their domestic league.

Association ranking

For the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2013

UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2008–09 to 2012–13.[12][13]

Rank Association Coeff. Teams
1 Spain Spain 88.025 4
2 England England 82.963
3 Germany Germany 79.614
4 Italy Italy 64.147 3
5 Portugal Portugal 59.168
6 France France 59.000
7
Ukraine
49.758 2
8 Russia Russia 46.332
9 Netherlands Netherlands 44.729
10 Turkey Turkey 34.500
11 Belgium Belgium 34.400
12 Greece Greece 34.000
13 Switzerland Switzerland 28.925
14 Cyprus Cyprus 26.833
15 Denmark Denmark 25.700
16 Austria Austria 25.375 1
17 Czech Republic Czech Republic 23.725
18 Romania Romania 23.024
Rank Association Coeff. Teams
19 Israel Israel 22.875 1
20 Belarus Belarus 20.875
21 Poland Poland 20.750
22 Croatia Croatia 19.583
23 Sweden Sweden 15.625
24 Scotland Scotland 15.191
25 Serbia Serbia 14.625
26 Slovakia Slovakia 14.208
27
Norway
14.175
28 Bulgaria Bulgaria 12.250
29 Hungary Hungary 11.750
30 Slovenia Slovenia 9.708
31 Georgia (country) Georgia 9.166
32 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 8.541
33 Finland Finland 8.508
34
Bosnia and Herzegovina
7.833
35 Moldova Moldova 7.666
36 Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 7.375
Rank Association Coeff. Teams
37 Lithuania Lithuania 6.500 1
38
Kazakhstan
5.958
39 Latvia Latvia 5.791
40 Iceland Iceland 5.416
41 Montenegro Montenegro 5.250
42 North Macedonia Macedonia 5.250
43 Albania Albania 4.166
44 Malta Malta 3.958
45 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 3.500 0
46 Luxembourg Luxembourg 3.375 1
47 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 3.083
48 Wales Wales 2.583
49 Estonia Estonia 2.208
50 Armenia Armenia 1.750
51 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 1.583
52 San Marino San Marino 0.666
53 Andorra Andorra 0.500
54 Gibraltar Gibraltar 0.000

Distribution

Since the title holders

Real Madrid qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league (as the third-placed team of the 2013–14 La Liga), the group stage spot reserved for the title holders is vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:[14][15][16]

  • The champions of association 13 (Switzerland) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
  • The champions of association 16 (Austria) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
  • The champions of associations 47 (Northern Ireland) and 48 (Wales) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(6 teams)
  • 6 champions from associations 49–54
Second qualifying round
(34 teams)
  • 31 champions from associations 17–48 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 3 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round Champions
(20 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 14–16
  • 17 winners from the second qualifying round
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 9 runners-up from associations 7–15
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off round Champions
(10 teams)
  • 10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 2 third-placed teams from associations 4–5
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • 13 champions from associations 1–13
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for champions
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Title holders).[17][18]

Group stage
Real MadridTH (3rd
)
Germany Bayern Munich (1st)
Sporting CP (2nd
)
Turkey Galatasaray (2nd)[Note TUR]
Spain Atlético Madrid (1st) Germany Borussia Dortmund (2nd) France Paris Saint-Germain (1st) Belgium Anderlecht (1st)
Spain Barcelona (2nd) Germany Schalke 04 (3rd) France Monaco (2nd)
1st
)
England Manchester City (1st)
Juventus (1st
)
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (1st) Switzerland Basel (1st)
England Liverpool (2nd)
Roma (2nd
)
Russia CSKA Moscow (1st)
England Chelsea (3rd) Portugal Benfica (1st) Netherlands Ajax (1st)
Play-off round
Champions Non-champions
Spain Athletic Bilbao (4th) Germany Bayer Leverkusen (4th) Portugal Porto (3rd)
England Arsenal (4th)
Napoli (3rd
)
Third qualifying round
Champions Non-champions
Cyprus APOEL (1st) France Lille (3rd) Turkey Beşiktaş (3rd)[Note TUR] Cyprus AEL Limassol (2nd)
Denmark AaB (1st)
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (2nd
)
Belgium Standard Liège (2nd) Denmark Copenhagen (2nd)
Austria Red Bull Salzburg (1st) Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg (2nd)
2nd
)
Netherlands Feyenoord (2nd) Switzerland Grasshoppers (2nd)
Second qualifying round
1st
)
Serbia Partizan (2nd)[Note SRB]
HJK (1st
)
Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić (1st)
Steaua București (1st
)
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (1st) Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar (1st)
1st
)
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (1st) Norway Strømsgodset (1st) Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (1st)
1st
)
Belarus BATE Borisov (1st)
1st
)
1st
)
Malta Valletta (1st)
Poland Legia Warsaw (1st) Hungary Debrecen (1st)
Žalgiris Vilnius (1st
)
Luxembourg F91 Dudelange (1st)
1st
)
Slovenia Maribor (1st) Kazakhstan Aktobe (1st) Northern Ireland Cliftonville (1st)
Sweden Malmö FF (1st) Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (1st) Latvia Ventspils (1st) Wales The New Saints (1st)
Scotland Celtic (1st) Azerbaijan Qarabağ (1st) Iceland KR (1st)
First qualifying round
Levadia Tallinn (1st
)
Faroe Islands HB (1st) Andorra FC Santa Coloma (1st)
Banants (1st
)
La Fiorita (1st
)
Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (1st)

Notes

  1. ^
    Serbia (SRB): Red Star Belgrade, the champions of the 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga, would have qualified for the Champions League second qualifying round, but were banned by UEFA for breaching UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.[19] As a result, the berth was given to Partizan, the runners-up of the league.
  2. 2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.[20][21] As a result, Galatasaray, the runners-up of the league, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, and the third qualifying round berth was given to Beşiktaş
    , the third-placed team of the league.

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[22][23]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First qualifying round 23 June 2014 1–2 July 2014 8–9 July 2014
Second qualifying round 15–16 July 2014 22–23 July 2014
Third qualifying round 18 July 2014 29–30 July 2014 5–6 August 2014
Play-off Play-off round 8 August 2014 19–20 August 2014 26–27 August 2014
Group stage Matchday 1 28 August 2014
(Monaco)
16–17 September 2014
Matchday 2 30 September–1 October 2014
Matchday 3 21–22 October 2014
Matchday 4 4–5 November 2014
Matchday 5 25–26 November 2014
Matchday 6 9–10 December 2014
Knockout phase Round of 16 15 December 2014 17–18 & 24–25 February 2015 10–11 & 17–18 March 2015
Quarter-finals 20 March 2015 14–15 April 2015 21–22 April 2015
Semi-finals 24 April 2015 5–6 May 2015 12–13 May 2015
Final 6 June 2015 at Olympiastadion, Berlin

The final date of 6 June could cause problems for South American international players called up to play in the 2015 Copa América, which begins on 11 June. FIFA international rules require clubs to release players 14 days prior to the start of an international tournament, which means the players would have to miss the Champions League final if the rules were enforced. If the players were allowed to play in the Champions League final, that would leave them as few as five days to travel and train prior to playing in the Copa América.[24]

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2014

UEFA club coefficients,[25][26][27] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties
. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on 23 June 2014.[28] The first legs were played on 1 and 2 July, and the second legs were played on 8 July 2014.

Team 1
Agg.
Tooltip Aggregate score
Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
FC Santa Coloma Andorra 3–3 (a)
Banants
1–0 2–3
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar 3–6 Faroe Islands HB 1–1 2–5
La Fiorita San Marino
0–8
Levadia Tallinn
0–1 0–7


Second qualifying round

The first legs were played on 15 and 16 July, and the second legs were played on 22 and 23 July 2014.

Team 1
Agg.
Tooltip Aggregate score
Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
BATE Borisov Belarus 1–1 (a) Albania Skënderbeu 0–0 1–1
FC Santa Coloma Andorra 0–3[A] Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–1 0–2
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country) 0–4 Kazakhstan Aktobe 0–1 0–3
Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–2 Slovenia Maribor 0–0 0–2
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova 5–0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić 2–0 3–0
Sparta Prague Czech Republic 8–1
Levadia Tallinn
7–0 1–1
Malmö Sweden 1–0 Latvia Ventspils 0–0 1–0
Slovan Bratislava Slovakia 3–0 Wales The New Saints 1–0 2–0
KR Iceland 0–5[B] Scotland Celtic 0–1 0–4
Cliftonville Northern Ireland 0–2 Hungary Debrecen 0–0 0–2
Partizan Serbia 6–1 Faroe Islands HB 3–0 3–1
Legia Warsaw Poland 6–1 Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic 1–1 5–0
Rabotnički North Macedonia 1–2
HJK
0–0 1–2
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia 4–0 Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius 2–0 2–0
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 5–1 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 4–0 1–1
Valletta Malta 0–5 Azerbaijan Qarabağ 0–1 0–4
Strømsgodset Norway 0–3
Steaua București
0–1 0–2
Notes
  1. 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[29]
  • ^
    Order of legs reversed after original draw.

  • Third qualifying round

    The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (Champions Route) and one for non-champions (League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

    The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 18 July 2014.[30] The first legs were played on 29 and 30 July, and the second legs were played on 5 and 6 August 2014.

    Team 1
    Agg.
    Tooltip Aggregate score
    Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Champions Route
    Qarabağ Azerbaijan 2–3 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 2–1 0–2
    Debrecen Hungary 2–3 Belarus BATE Borisov 1–0 1–3
    Slovan Bratislava Slovakia 2–1 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 2–1 0–0
    AaB Denmark 2–1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 0–1 2–0
    Legia Warsaw Poland 4–4 (a) Scotland Celtic 4–1 0–3[E]
    Aktobe Kazakhstan 3–4
    Steaua București
    2–2 1–2
    Maribor Slovenia 3–2 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 2–2
    HJK Finland
    2–4 Cyprus APOEL 2–2 0–2
    Sparta Prague Czech Republic 4–4 (a) Sweden Malmö 4–2 0–2
    Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 2–2 (a) Serbia Partizan 0–0 2–2
    Team 1
    Agg.
    Tooltip Aggregate score
    Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    League Route
    AEL Limassol Cyprus 1–3 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 1–0 0–3
    Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine 0–2 Denmark Copenhagen 0–0 0–2
    Feyenoord Netherlands 2–5 Turkey Beşiktaş 1–2 1–3
    Grasshoppers Switzerland 1–3 France Lille 0–2 1–1
    Standard Liège Belgium 2–1 Greece Panathinaikos 0–0 2–1
    Notes
    1. ^
      Because of a clerical error by Legia Warsaw involving Bartosz Bereszyński, who was suspended for three matches as a result of a red card on matchday 6 of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage, UEFA awarded Celtic a 3–0 win. The error involved Legia Warsaw not registering the suspended player for the St. Patrick's Athletic tie the previous round, which meant those two matches did not count towards his suspension. The original match had ended in a 2–0 win for Legia Warsaw.[31]


    Play-off round

    The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (Champions Route) and one for non-champions (League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage.

    The draw for the play-off round was held on 8 August 2014.[32] The first legs were played on 19 and 20 August, and the second legs were played on 26 and 27 August 2014.

    Team 1
    Agg.
    Tooltip Aggregate score
    Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Champions Route
    Maribor Slovenia 2–1 Scotland Celtic 1–1 1–0
    Red Bull Salzburg Austria 2–4 Sweden Malmö 2–1 0–3
    AaB Denmark 1–5 Cyprus APOEL 1–1 0–4
    Steaua București Romania
    1–1 (5–6 p) Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 1–0
    a.e.t.
    )
    Slovan Bratislava Slovakia 1–4 Belarus BATE Borisov 1–1 0–3
    Team 1
    Agg.
    Tooltip Aggregate score
    Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    League Route
    Beşiktaş Turkey 0–1 England Arsenal 0–0 0–1
    Standard Liège Belgium 0–4 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 0–1 0–3
    Copenhagen Denmark 2–7 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 2–3 0–4
    Lille France 0–3 Portugal Porto 0–1 0–2
    Napoli Italy
    2–4 Spain Athletic Bilbao 1–1 1–3


    Group stage

    Sporting CP
    Location of teams of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage.
    Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
    Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G;
    Pink: Group H.