How Tie-Breakers Rules Works in the New Champions League – UEFA

From the start of the season, there has been a change in the UEFA Champions League, where a new league phase replaces the traditional group stage. With 36 teams battling it out in a single league, the competition just got even more intense. 

But what happens if two or more teams finish with the same number of points? UEFA has explained how tie-breakers will work to ensure there’s no confusion about which clubs advance, face play-offs, or are eliminated.

The new format: How the league phase works

In this new format, each of the 36 teams plays eight matches against different opponents. All the results are added up into one large table. Here’s what happens next:

• The top 8 teams automatically move on to the Round of 16.
• Teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will enter a play-off round to try and reach the Round of 16.
• The bottom teams, ranked 25th to 36th, are eliminated from the competition altogether.

But what if two or more teams have the same number of points? That’s where the tie-breaker rules come into play.

Tie-breaker rules: How UEFA decides who moves on

If teams are level on points, UEFA has laid out a step-by-step method to separate them. The tie-breaker criteria are as follows:

1. Goal Difference: This is the first thing UEFA looks at. Teams with a higher goal difference (the number of goals they’ve scored minus the number they’ve conceded) will rank higher.
2. Goals Scored: If goal difference doesn’t settle it, the team that has scored more goals will get the advantage.
3. Away Goals: If both teams are still tied, the next factor is the number of goals scored in away matches. More away goals mean a higher ranking.
4. Wins: After that, the total number of wins comes into play. More wins push a team higher in the standings.
5. Away Wins: If the number of wins is also the same, the team with more away wins gets the edge.

These five steps should be enough to decide which team moves on. But what if, after all that, the teams are still tied? UEFA has more rules to cover these rare situations.

What happens if teams are still tied?

If teams remain level after applying the above criteria, UEFA will look at the following factors:

6. Points Against Opponents: The points earned in matches against all the other teams in the league phase are considered.
7. Goal Difference Against Opponents: Next, UEFA looks at the collective goal difference from matches against all other league phase opponents.
8. Goals Scored Against Opponents: If it’s still undecided, they’ll check how many goals were scored across those same matches.
9. Disciplinary Record: If the tie persists, discipline comes into the picture. Teams with fewer disciplinary points (for yellow and red cards) will rank higher. A red card is worth 3 points, a yellow card 1 point, and two yellows leading to a red counts as 3 points.
10. Club Coefficient: If all else fails, UEFA will use the club’s coefficient, which is a ranking based on past performances in European competitions, to determine who advances.

The unlikely alphabet rule

In an extremely rare case where all of these rules fail to separate the teams, UEFA will finally use the alphabetical order of the club’s abbreviated name as a last resort. Yes, that means the first letter of a club’s name could ultimately decide their fate!