2017–18 UEFA Europa League
 The Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu hosted the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 29 June – 24 August 2017 Competition proper: 14 September 2017 – 16 May 2018 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 48+8 Total: 157+33 (from 55 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Atlético Madrid (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Marseille |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 205 |
| Goals scored | 556 (2.71 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,545,716 (22,174 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao) Ciro Immobile (Lazio) 8 goals each |
| Best player(s) | Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)[1] |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played at the Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, France.[2] Atlético Madrid defeated Marseille to win their third Europa League title.
As winners, Atlético Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. Moreover, they would also have been automatically qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage,[3] but since they had already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the 2017–18 Ligue 1, the fifth-ranked association according to next season's access list.[4]
Manchester United qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League as the title holders of Europa League.[5] They were unable to defend their title as they qualified for the Champions League knockout phase, and were eliminated by Sevilla in the round of 16.
Association team allocation
[edit]A total of 190 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.[6] The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[7]
- Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
- As the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Manchester United qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League; the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League berth they would otherwise have earned for finishing 6th in the 2016–17 Premier League was vacated and not passed to another English team.
- 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).[8]
- Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League.
Starting from this season, Gibraltar were granted two spots instead of one in the Europa League.[9] Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, made their debut in the UEFA Europa League.[8][10]
Association ranking
[edit]For the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16.[11][12]
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below:
- (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
- (UEL) – Vacated berth due to UEFA Europa League title holders playing in UEFA Champions League
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Distribution
[edit]In the default access list, Manchester United entered the group stage (as the sixth-placed team of the 2016–17 Premier League).[10] However, since they qualified for the Champions League as the Europa League title holders, the spot which they qualified for in the Europa League group stage was vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system were made:[13][14][15][16]
- The domestic cup winners of association 13 (Czech Republic) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
- The domestic cup winners of association 18 (Poland) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
- The domestic cup winners of associations 25 (Scotland) and 26 (Azerbaijan) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round (100 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (66 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (58 teams) |
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| Play-off round (44 teams) |
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| Group stage (48 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (32 teams) |
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Redistribution rules
[edit]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 (regulations Articles 3.03 and 3.04):[7]
- 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
[edit]The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[17][18]
- CW: Cup winners
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
- LC: League Cup winners
- RW: Regular season winners
- PW: End-of-season European competition 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
Notably two teams took part in the competition that were not playing in their national top division, Tirana (2nd tier) and Vaduz (representing Liechtenstein, playing in Swiss second tier).
- Notes
- ^ Bulgaria (BUL): On 29 May 2017 a UEFA letter to the Bulgarian Football Union declared that CSKA Sofia, the runners-up of the 2016–17 First Professional Football League, were not allowed to compete in the Europa League as they were considered to have been re-formed as a new club and thus did not pass the "three-year rule".[19] As this decision was appealed by CSKA Sofia, the Bulgarian Football Union granted a license to them subject to legal proceedings.[20][21][22] A few hours prior to the Europa League first qualifying round draw, UEFA replaced them with Dunav Ruse, the fourth-placed team of the league.[23]
- ^ Kosovo (KOS): Besa Pejë would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the winners of the 2016–17 Kosovar Cup, but failed to obtain a UEFA license.[24] As a result, the berth was given to the runners-up of the 2016–17 Football Superleague of Kosovo, Prishtina.
- ^ Malta (MLT): Birkirkara would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the third-placed team of the 2016–17 Maltese Premier League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[25] As a result, the berth was given to the fourth-placed team of the league, Valletta.
- ^ 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).
- ^ Romania (ROU): Voluntari would have qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round as the winners of 2016–17 Cupa României, and CFR Cluj would have qualified for the second qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2016–17 Liga I, but both failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[26] As a result, the third qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Universitatea Craiova, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the sixth-placed team of the league, Astra Giurgiu.
Round and draw dates
[edit]The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[10][27][28]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 19 June 2017 | 29 June 2017 | 6 July 2017 |
| Second qualifying round | 13 July 2017 | 20 July 2017 | ||
| Third qualifying round | 14 July 2017 | 27 July 2017 | 3 August 2017 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 4 August 2017 | 17 August 2017 | 24 August 2017 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 25 August 2017 (Monaco) | 14 September 2017 | |
| Matchday 2 | 28 September 2017 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 19 October 2017 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 2 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 23 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 7 December 2017 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 11 December 2017 | 15 February 2018 | 22 February 2018 |
| Round of 16 | 23 February 2018 | 8 March 2018 | 15 March 2018 | |
| Quarter-finals | 16 March 2018 | 5 April 2018 | 12 April 2018 | |
| Semi-finals | 13 April 2018 | 26 April 2018 | 3 May 2018 | |
| Final | 16 May 2018 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu | |||
Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Qualifying rounds
[edit]In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients,[29][30][31] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
First qualifying round
[edit]The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 19 June 2017, 13:00 CEST.[32] The first legs were played on 29 June, and the second legs were played on 4 and 6 July 2017.
- Notes
Second qualifying round
[edit]The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2017, 14:30 CEST (after the completion of the first qualifying round draw).[32] The first legs were played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs were played on 20 July 2017.
- Notes
Third qualifying round
[edit]The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 14 July 2017, 13:00 CEST.[33] The first legs were played on 27 July, and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 August 2017.
- Notes
- ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Play-off round
[edit]The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2017, 13:00 CEST.[34] The first legs were played on 16 and 17 August, and the second legs were played on 24 August 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Milan  | 7–0[D] |  Shkëndija | 6–0 | 1–0 |
Osijek  | 2–2 (a) |  Austria Wien | 1–2 | 1–0 |
Krasnodar  | 4–4 (a)[D] |  Red Star Belgrade | 3–2 | 1–2 |
Club Brugge  | 0–3 |  AEK Athens | 0–0 | 0–3 |
Marítimo  | 1–3 |  Dynamo Kyiv | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Panathinaikos | 2–4 | Athletic Bilbao | 2–3 | 0–1 |
Apollon Limassol  | 4–3 |  Midtjylland | 3–2 | 1–1 |
FH  | 3–5 | Braga | 1–2 | 2–3 |
Everton  | 3–1 | Hajduk Split | 2–0 | 1–1 |
Viitorul Constanța  | 1–7 | Red Bull Salzburg | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| Vardar | 4–1 |  Fenerbahçe | 2–0 | 2–1 |
Ajax  | 2–4 |  Rosenborg | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Rheindorf Altach | 2–3 |  Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–1 | 2–2 |
BATE Borisov  | 3–2 | Oleksandriya | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 1–1 (a) |  Skënderbeu | 1–1 | 0–0 |
Ludogorets Razgrad  | 2–0 |  Sūduva Marijampolė | 2–0 | 0–0 |
Domžale  | 1–4 |  Marseille | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Partizan | 4–0 |  Videoton | 0–0 | 4–0 |
| Utrecht | 1–2 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1–0 | 0–2 (a.e.t.) |
Legia Warsaw  | 1–1 (a) |  Sheriff Tiraspol | 1–1 | 0–0 |
Viktoria Plzeň  | 3–1 | AEK Larnaca | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| PAOK | 3–3 (a) |  Östersunds FK | 3–1 | 0–2 |
- Notes
Group stage
[edit]
Red: Group A; 
Yellow: Group B; 
Green: Group C; 
Dark Green: Group D;
Purple: Group E; 
Pink: Group F; 
Blue: Group G; 
Orange: Group H;
Brown: Group I; 
Deep pink: Group J; 
Cyan: Group K; 
Spring green: Group L.The draw for the group stage was held on 25 August 2017, 13:00 CEST, 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 were seeded into four pots based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients.[29][30][31]
In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 32, where they were joined by the eight third-placed teams of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage. The matchdays were 14 September, 28 September, 19 October, 2 November, 23 November, and 7 December 2017.
A total of 29 national associations were represented in the group stage.