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2020–21 UEFA Europa League

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2020–21 UEFA Europa League
The Stadion Gdańsk in Gdańsk hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
18 August 2020 – 1 October 2020
Competition proper:
22 October 2020 – 26 May 2021
TeamsCompetition proper: 48+8
Total: 158+55 (from 55 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Villarreal (1st title)
Runners-upEngland Manchester United
Tournament statistics
Matches played204
Goals scored618 (3.03 per match)
Attendance108,617 (532 per match)
Top scorer(s)Pizzi (Benfica)
Borja Mayoral (Roma)
Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
Yusuf Yazıcı (Lille)
7 goals each
Best player(s)Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)[1]

The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

Villarreal defeated Manchester United in the final, played at the Stadion Gdańsk in Gdańsk, Poland, 11–10 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time, winning the competition for the first time in club history.[2] Villarreal thus automatically qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and earned the right to play in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup. The stadium was originally appointed to host the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final, but this was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in 2020.[3]

As the title holders of the Europa League, Sevilla qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, although they had already qualified before the final through their league performance. They were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

Association team allocation

[edit]

A total of 213 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[4]

  • Associations 1–50 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 51–55 each had two teams qualify (starting from this season, with association 51 losing one spot and association 55 gaining one spot).[5]
  • Liechtenstein had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league).
  • Moreover, 55 teams eliminated from the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League (default number was 57, but two fewer teams competed in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League).

Association ranking

[edit]

For the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2019 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2014–15 to 2018–19.[6]

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 2020–21 UEFA Europa League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  Spain 103.569 3
2  England 85.462 +1 (UCL)
3  Italy 74.725
4  Germany 71.927
5  France 58.498
6  Russia 50.549 +2 (UCL)
7  Portugal 48.232 +1 (UCL)
8  Belgium 39.900 +2 (UCL)
9  Ukraine 38.900 +2 (UCL)
10  Turkey 34.600 +1 (UCL)
11  Netherlands 32.433 +2 (UCL)
12  Austria 31.250 +2 (UCL)
13  Czech Republic 28.675 +2 (UCL)
14  Greece 27.600 +2 (UCL)
15  Croatia 27.375 +2 (UCL)
16  Denmark 27.025
17  Switzerland 26.900 +1 (UCL)
18  Cyprus 24.925 +1 (UCL)
19  Serbia 22.250 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Scotland 22.125 3 +1 (UCL)
21  Belarus 21.875 +1 (UCL)
22  Sweden 20.900 +1 (UCL)
23  Norway 20.200 +1 (UCL)
24  Kazakhstan 19.250 +1 (UCL)
25  Poland 19.250 +1 (UCL)
26  Azerbaijan 19.000 +1 (UCL)
27  Israel 18.625 +1 (UCL)
28  Bulgaria 17.500 +1 (UCL)
29  Romania 15.950 +1 (UCL)
30  Slovakia 15.625 +1 (UCL)
31  Slovenia 15.000 +1 (UCL)
32  Liechtenstein 13.500 1
33  Hungary 10.500 3
34  North Macedonia 8.000 +1 (UCL)
35  Moldova 7.750 +1 (UCL)
36  Albania 7.500 +1 (UCL)
37  Republic of Ireland 7.450 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38  Finland 7.275 3 +1 (UCL)
39  Iceland 7.250 +1 (UCL)
40  Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.125 +1 (UCL)
41  Lithuania 6.750 +1 (UCL)
42  Latvia 5.625 +1 (UCL)
43  Luxembourg 5.500 +1 (UCL)
44  Armenia 5.250 +1 (UCL)
45  Malta 5.125 +1 (UCL)
46  Estonia 5.000 +1 (UCL)
47  Georgia 4.750 +1 (UCL)
48  Wales 4.125 +1 (UCL)
49  Montenegro 4.125 +1 (UCL)
50  Faroe Islands 4.000 +1 (UCL)
51  Gibraltar 4.000 2 +1 (UCL)
52  Northern Ireland 3.875 +1 (UCL)
53  Kosovo 2.500 +1 (UCL)
54  Andorra 1.831 +1 (UCL)
55  San Marino 0.666 +1 (UCL)

Distribution

[edit]

The following was the access list for this season.[7]

Access list for 2020–21 UEFA Europa League
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
Preliminary round
(16 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 50–55
  • 7 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–55
  • 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–50
First qualifying round
(94 teams)
  • 25 domestic cup winners from associations 25–49
  • 30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 8 winners from preliminary round
Second qualifying round Champions Path
(20 teams)
  • 17 teams eliminated from Champions League first qualifying round
  • 3 teams eliminated from Champions League preliminary round
Main Path
(72 teams)
  • 5 domestic cup winners from associations 20–24
  • 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
(18 teams)
  • 10 winners from second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 8 teams eliminated from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(52 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 14–19
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 36 winners from second qualifying round (Main Path)
  • 3 teams eliminated from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round Champions Path
(16 teams)
  • 9 winners from third qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 5 teams eliminated from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 2 teams eliminated from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(26 teams)
  • 26 winners from third qualifying round (Main Path)
Group stage
(48 teams)
  • 13 domestic cup winners from associations 1–13
  • 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 teams eliminated from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 2 teams eliminated from Champions League play-off round (League Path)
  • 3 teams eliminated 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

Changes were made to the default access list since the Champions League title holders, Bayern Munich, and the Europa League title holders, Sevilla, which were guaranteed berths in the Champions League group stage, already qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic leagues, meaning there were fewer teams transferred from the Champions League due to changes in the Champions League access list. However, as a result of schedule delays to both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 European seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 European season started before the conclusion of the 2019–20 European season. Therefore, the changes to the access list that should have been made based on the Champions League and Europa League title holders could not be certain until matches of the earlier qualifying rounds had been played and/or their draws had been made. UEFA used "adaptive re-balancing" to change the access list once the berths for the Champions League and Europa League title holders were determined, and rounds which had already been drawn or played by the time the title holders were determined would not be impacted (Regulations Article 3.07)[4] The following changes were made:

  • Since the Champions League title holder berth in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage was vacated, only five losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path), instead of the original six, were transferred to the Europa League play-off round (Champions Path). In this case, two losers of Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path), determined by draw, received a bye to the play-off round (Champions Path) instead of entering the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
  • At the time when the draws for the preliminary round and first qualifying round were held on 9 and 10 August 2020, it was not certain whether the Europa League title holder berth in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage would be vacated as four of the quarter-finalists of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bayer Leverkusen, Copenhagen and Basel, did not qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage via their domestic leagues. Therefore, these draws proceeded as normal per the default access list, and the matches drawn, which were played on 18–21 and 25–27 August 2020, were not changed even though after the quarter-finals of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, which were played on 10–11 August 2020, it was confirmed all four semi-finalists, Sevilla, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk, already qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage via their domestic leagues, meaning the Europa League title holder berth would be vacated. As a result, only three losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (League Path), instead of the original four, were transferred to the Europa League group stage, and "adaptive re-balancing" started from the second qualifying round (Main Path), whose draw was held on 31 August 2020, and the following changes to the access list were made:
    • The cup winners of association 13 (Czech Republic), entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round (Main Path).
    • The cup winners of associations 18 (Cyprus) and 19 (Serbia), entered the third qualifying round (Main Path) instead of the second qualifying round (Main Path).

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:

  • 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 moved 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 moved 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]

In early April 2020, UEFA announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the deadline for entering the tournament had been postponed until further notice.[8] UEFA also sent a letter to all member associations that domestic leagues must be completed in full without ending prematurely in order to qualify for European competitions.[9] After meeting with the 55 UEFA associations on 21 April 2020, UEFA strongly recommended them to finish domestic top league and cup competitions, although in some special cases where it was not possible, UEFA developed guidelines concerning participation in its club competitions in case of a cancelled league or cup.[10][11] After the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 23 April 2020, UEFA announced that if a domestic competition was prematurely terminated for legitimate reasons in accordance with conditions related to public health or economic problems, the national associations concerned were required to select their participating teams for the 2020–21 UEFA club competitions based on sporting merit in the 2019–20 domestic competitions, and UEFA reserved the right to refuse their admission if UEFA deemed the termination of the competitions not legitimate, or the selection procedure not objective, transparent and non-discriminatory, or the team was perceived by the public as qualifying unfairly. A suspended domestic competition could also be restarted with a different format from the original one in a manner which would still facilitate qualification on sporting merit.[12][13] All leagues were initially to communicate to UEFA by 25 May 2020 whether they intended to restart their competitions,[14] but this deadline was later extended. On 17 June 2020, UEFA announced that associations had to enter their teams by 3 August 2020.[3] If a cup was abandoned or not completed by the UEFA registration deadline, the Europa League places were distributed by league positions only.

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • CW: Cup winners
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position of the previous season
  • 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
    • CH/LP PO: Losers from the play-off round (Champions/League Path)
    • CH/LP Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
    • CH/LP Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round (Champions/League Path)
    • Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
    • PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
  • Abd-: League positions of abandoned season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe as determined by the national association; all teams were subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic[15]

The second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round were divided into Champions Path (CH) and Main Path (MP).

Qualified teams for 2020–21 UEFA Europa League
Entry round Teams
R32 Austria Red Bull Salzburg (UCL GS) Greece Olympiacos (UCL GS) Russia Krasnodar (UCL GS) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (UCL GS)
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (UCL GS) Netherlands Ajax (UCL GS) Belgium Club Brugge (UCL GS) England Manchester United (UCL GS)
GS Spain Villarreal (5th) Germany TSG Hoffenheim (6th) Turkey Sivasspor (4th)[Note] Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (UCL CH PO)
Spain Real Sociedad (6th/CW)[Note ESP] France Lille (Abd-4th)[Note FRA] Netherlands Feyenoord (Abd-3rd)[Note NED] Belgium Gent (UCL LP PO)
England Arsenal (CW) France Nice (Abd-5th)[Note FRA] Austria Wolfsberger AC (3rd) Greece PAOK (UCL LP PO)
England Leicester City (5th) Russia CSKA Moscow (4th) Czech Republic Sparta Prague (CW) Portugal Benfica (UCL LP Q3)
Italy Napoli (CW) Portugal Braga (3rd) Czech Republic Slavia Prague (UCL CH PO) Netherlands AZ (UCL LP Q3)
Italy Roma (5th) Belgium Antwerp (CW) Cyprus Omonia (UCL CH PO) Austria Rapid Wien (UCL LP Q3)
Germany Bayer Leverkusen (5th) Ukraine Zorya Luhansk (3rd) Norway Molde (UCL CH PO)
PO CH Croatia Dinamo Zagreb (UCL CH Q3) Switzerland Young Boys (UCL CH Q3) Serbia Red Star Belgrade (UCL CH Q3) Belarus Dynamo Brest (UCL CH Q3)
Azerbaijan Qarabağ (UCL CH Q3) Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (UCL CH Q2)[Note CH Q2] Albania Tirana (UCL CH Q2)[Note CH Q2]
Q3 CH Scotland Celtic (UCL CH Q2) Poland Legia Warsaw (UCL CH Q2) Romania CFR Cluj (UCL CH Q2) Slovenia Celje (UCL CH Q2)
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (UCL CH Q2) Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo (UCL CH Q2) Lithuania Sūduva (UCL CH Q2) Faroe Islands (UCL CH Q2)
MP Russia Rostov (5th) Portugal Sporting CP (4th) Belgium Charleroi (Abd-3rd)[Note BEL] Ukraine Desna Chernihiv (4th)
Turkey Alanyaspor (5th)[Note TUR] Netherlands PSV Eindhoven (Abd-4th)[Note NED] Austria LASK (4th) Greece AEK Athens (3rd)[Note GRE]
Croatia Rijeka (CW) Denmark SønderjyskE (CW) Switzerland St. Gallen (2nd)[Note SUI] Cyprus Anorthosis (Abd-2nd)[Note CYP]
Serbia Vojvodina (CW) Turkey Beşiktaş (UCL LP Q2) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (UCL LP Q2) Croatia Lokomotiva (UCL LP Q2)
Q2 CH Sweden Djurgårdens IF (UCL Q1) Kazakhstan Astana (UCL Q1) Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (UCL Q1) North Macedonia Sileks (UCL Q1)
Republic of Ireland Dundalk (UCL Q1) Finland KuPS (UCL Q1) Iceland KR (UCL Q1) Latvia Riga (UCL Q1)
Luxembourg Fola Esch (UCL Q1) Armenia Ararat-Armenia (UCL Q1) Malta Floriana (UCL Q1) Estonia Flora (UCL Q1)
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (UCL Q1) Wales Connah's Quay Nomads (UCL Q1) Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (UCL Q1) Gibraltar Europa (UCL Q1)
Northern Ireland Linfield (UCL Q1) Kosovo Drita (UCL PR F) Andorra Inter Club d'Escaldes (UCL PR SF) San Marino Tre Fiori (UCL PR SF)
MP Spain Granada (7th)[Note ESP] England Tottenham Hotspur (6th) Italy Milan (6th) Germany VfL Wolfsburg (7th)
France Reims (Abd-6th)[Note FRA] Russia Dynamo Moscow (6th) Portugal Rio Ave (5th) Belgium Standard Liège (Abd-5th)[Note BEL]
Ukraine Kolos Kovalivka (PW) Turkey Galatasaray (6th)[Note TUR] Netherlands Willem II (Abd-5th)[Note NED] Austria Hartberg (PW)
Czech Republic Jablonec (4th) Czech Republic Slovan Liberec (PW) Greece Aris (5th) Greece OFI (6th)[Note GRE]
Croatia Osijek (4th) Croatia Hajduk Split (5th) Denmark Copenhagen (2nd) Switzerland Basel (3rd)[Note SUI]
Scotland Rangers (Abd-2nd)[Note SCO] Belarus BATE Borisov (CW) Sweden IFK Göteborg (CW) Norway Viking (CW)
Kazakhstan Kaisar (CW)
Q1 Denmark AGF (PW) Switzerland Servette (4th)[Note SUI] Cyprus APOEL (Abd-3rd)[Note CYP] Cyprus Apollon Limassol (Abd-4th)[Note CYP]
Serbia Partizan (2nd) Serbia TSC Bačka Topola (4th) Scotland Motherwell (Abd-3rd)[Note SCO] Scotland Aberdeen (Abd-4th)[Note SCO]
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk (3rd) Belarus Dinamo Minsk (4th) Sweden Malmö FF (2nd) Sweden Hammarby IF (3rd)
Norway Bodø/Glimt (2nd) Norway Rosenborg (3rd) Kazakhstan Kairat (2nd) Kazakhstan Ordabasy (3rd)
Poland Cracovia (CW) Poland Lech Poznań (2nd) Poland Piast Gliwice (3rd) Azerbaijan Neftçi (Abd-2nd)[Note AZE]
Azerbaijan Keşla (Abd-3rd)[Note AZE] Azerbaijan Sumgayit (Abd-4th)[Note AZE] Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva (CW) Israel Maccabi Haifa (2nd)
Israel Beitar Jerusalem (3rd) Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv (CW) Bulgaria CSKA Sofia (2nd) Bulgaria Slavia Sofia (PW)
Romania FCSB (CW) Romania Universitatea Craiova (2nd) Romania Botoșani (4th)[Note ROU] Slovakia Žilina (2nd)
Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda (3rd) Slovakia Ružomberok (PW) Slovenia Mura (CW) Slovenia Maribor (2nd)
Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana (3rd) Liechtenstein Vaduz (Abd-Cup)[Note LIE] Hungary Honvéd (CW) Hungary MOL Fehérvár (2nd)
Hungary Puskás Akadémia (3rd) North Macedonia Shkëndija (Abd-3rd)[Note MKD] North Macedonia Renova (Abd-4th)[Note MKD] North Macedonia Shkupi (Abd-5th)[Note MKD]
Moldova Petrocub Hîncești (CW) Moldova Sfântul Gheorghe (2nd) Moldova Dinamo-Auto (4th) Albania Teuta (CW)
Albania Kukësi (2nd) Albania Laçi (3rd) Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (CW) Republic of Ireland Bohemians (3rd)
Republic of Ireland Derry City (4th)[Note IRL] Finland Ilves (CW) Finland Inter Turku (2nd) Finland Honka (PW)
Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík (CW) Iceland Breiðablik (2nd) Iceland FH (3rd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar (Abd-2nd)[Note BIH]
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar (Abd-3rd)[Note BIH] Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka (Abd-4th)[Note BIH] Lithuania Žalgiris (2nd) Lithuania Riteriai (3rd)
Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris (4th) Latvia RFS (CW) Latvia Ventspils (3rd) Latvia Valmiera (4th)
Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn (Abd-2nd)[Note LUX] Luxembourg Differdange 03 (Abd-3rd)[Note LUX] Luxembourg Union Titus Pétange (Abd-4th)[Note LUX] Armenia Noah (CW)
Armenia Alashkert (3rd) Armenia Shirak (4th) Malta Valletta (Abd-2nd)[Note MLT] Malta Hibernians (Abd-3rd)[Note MLT]
Malta Sirens (Abd-4th)[Note MLT] Estonia FCI Levadia (2nd) Estonia Nõmme Kalju (3rd) Estonia Paide Linnameeskond (4th)
Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi (CW) Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi (2nd) Georgia (country) Locomotive Tbilisi (4th) Wales The New Saints (Abd-2nd)[Note WAL]
Wales Bala Town (Abd-3rd)[Note WAL] Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić (Abd-2nd)[Note MNE]
PR Wales Barry Town United (Abd-4th)[Note WAL] Montenegro Iskra Danilovgrad (Abd-3rd)[Note MNE] Montenegro Zeta (Abd-4th)[Note MNE] Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn (CW)
Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn (2nd) Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík (3rd) Gibraltar St Joseph's (Abd-2nd)[Note GIB] Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (Abd-3rd)[Note GIB]
Northern Ireland Glentoran (CW) Northern Ireland Coleraine (Abd-2nd)[Note NIR] Kosovo Prishtina (CW) Kosovo Gjilani (2nd)
Andorra FC Santa Coloma (2nd) Andorra Engordany (3rd) San Marino Tre Penne (Abd-3rd)[Note SMR] San Marino La Fiorita (Abd-4th)[Note SMR]

Notes

  1. ^
    Champions Path (CH): Tirana and Ludogorets Razgrad, two of the ten losers of 2020–21 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path), were determined by a draw held on 31 August 2020 after the Europa League second qualifying round draw,[16] to receive a bye to the play-off round.
  2. ^
    Azerbaijan (AZE): The 2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League and the 2019–20 Azerbaijan Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Neftçi, Keşla and Sumgayit, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, entering the first qualifying round.[17]
  3. ^
    Belgium (BEL): The 2019–20 Belgian First Division A was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. The third-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Charleroi and Standard Liège, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Royal Belgian Football Association, entering the third qualifying round and second qualifying round respectively.[18]
  4. ^
    Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH): The 2019–20 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 2019–20 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Željezničar, Zrinjski Mostar and Borac Banja Luka, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entering the first qualifying round.[19]
  5. ^
    Cyprus (CYP): The 2019–20 Cypriot First Division and the 2019–20 Cypriot Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Anorthosis, APOEL and Apollon Limassol, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Cyprus Football Association, entering the third qualifying round (second-placed team) and first qualifying round respectively.[20]
  6. ^
    France (FRA): The 2019–20 Ligue 1 was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The fourth-placed, fifth-placed and sixth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Lille, Nice and Reims, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the French Football Federation, entering the group stage and second qualifying round (sixth-placed team) respectively.[21]
  7. ^
    Gibraltar (GIB): The 2019–20 Gibraltar National League and the 2020 Rock Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Gibraltar. The second-placed and third-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, St Joseph's and Lincoln Red Imps, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Gibraltar Football Association, entering the preliminary round.[22]
  8. ^
    Greece (GRE):
    • The 2019–20 Greek Football Cup was not completed by the UEFA registration deadline. However, since both finalists, Olympiacos and AEK Athens, were in the top three of the 2019–20 Super League Greece, the result of the final would have no impact on qualification for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.
    • Panathinaikos, the fourth-placed team of the 2019–20 Super League Greece, would have qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, but were banned from UEFA club competitions for the first season they would qualify between the 2018–19 and 2020–21 seasons by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 24 April 2018 due to overdue payables, which turned out to be the 2020–21 season since they did not qualify for either the 2018–19 or 2019–20 season.[23] As a result, OFI, the sixth-placed team, qualified for this berth.
  9. ^
    Liechtenstein (LIE): The 2019–20 Liechtenstein Cup was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein. The team remaining in the cup with the highest UEFA club coefficient, Vaduz, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Liechtenstein Football Association, entering the first qualifying round.[24]
  10. ^
    Luxembourg (LUX): The 2019–20 Luxembourg National Division and the 2019–20 Luxembourg Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Luxembourg. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Progrès Niederkorn, Differdange 03 and Union Titus Pétange, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Luxembourg Football Federation, entering the first qualifying round.[25]
  11. ^
    Malta (MLT): The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League and the 2019–20 Maltese FA Trophy were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Valletta, Hibernians and Sirens, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Malta Football Association, entering the first qualifying round.[26]
  12. ^
    Montenegro (MNE): The 2019–20 Montenegrin First League and the 2019–20 Montenegrin Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Sutjeska Nikšić, Iskra Danilovgrad and Zeta, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Association of Montenegro, entering the first qualifying round (second-placed team) and preliminary round respectively.[27]
  13. ^
    Netherlands (NED): The 2019–20 Eredivisie and the 2019–20 KNVB Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. The third-placed, fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Willem II, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Royal Dutch Football Association, entering the group stage, third qualifying round and second qualifying round respectively.[28]
  14. ^
    North Macedonia (MKD): The 2019–20 Macedonian First Football League and the 2019–20 Macedonian Football Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia. The third-placed, fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Shkëndija, Renova and Shkupi, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Federation of North Macedonia, entering the first qualifying round, as the second-placed team, Sileks, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League to replace the top team, Vardar, who failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[29]
  15. ^
    Northern Ireland (NIR): The 2019–20 NIFL Premiership was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland. The second-placed team of the league at the time of the abandonement, Coleraine, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Irish Football Association, entering the preliminary round.[30]
  16. ^
    Republic of Ireland (IRL): Derry City are a club based in Northern Ireland but play in the Republic of Ireland's league system, and qualify for the Europa League through one of the berths for the Republic of Ireland.
  17. ^
    Romania (ROU): Astra Giurgiu, the third-placed team of the 2019–20 Liga I, would have qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[31] As a result, Botoșani, the fourth-placed team, qualified for this berth.
  18. ^
    San Marino (SMR): The 2019–20 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio and the 2019–20 Coppa Titano were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino. The second-placed and third-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment, Folgore and Tre Penne, were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the San Marino Football Federation, entering the preliminary round.[32] However, Folgore were banned by UEFA due to previous match-fixing, and were replaced by the fourth-placed team, La Fiorita.[33]
  19. ^
    Scotland (SCO): The 2019–20 Scottish Premiership was abandoned and the 2019–20 Scottish Cup was not completed by the UEFA registration deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, Rangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Scottish Football Association, entering the second qualifying round (second-placed team) and first qualifying round respectively.[34]
  20. ^
    Spain (ESP): The 2019–20 Copa del Rey was not completed by the UEFA registration deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. As a result, the seventh-placed team of the 2019–20 La Liga was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, entering the second qualifying round, and the sixth-placed team of the league entered the group stage.[35] The 2019–20 Copa del Rey was ultimately won by Real Sociedad, who entered the group stage as sixth-placed team, in 2021.
  21. ^
    Switzerland (SUI): The 2019–20 Swiss Cup was not completed by the UEFA registration deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. As a result, the fourth-placed team of the 2019–20 Swiss Super League was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Swiss Football Association, entering the first qualifying round, and the second-placed and third-placed teams of the league entered the third qualifying round and second qualifying round respectively.[36]
  22. ^
    Turkey (TUR): Trabzonspor, the second-placed team of the 2019–20 Süper Lig, would have qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, but were banned from all UEFA club competitions for the 2020–21 season by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 3 June 2020 due to breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations.[37] Trabzonspor appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[38] but on 30 July 2020, it was announced that the ban on them participating in UEFA club competitions was upheld.[39] As a result, Beşiktaş, the third-placed team, qualified for this berth instead of entering the Europa League group stage, Sivasspor, the fourth-placed team, entered the Europa League group stage instead of the third qualifying round, Alanyaspor, the fifth-placed team, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and Galatasaray, the sixth-placed team, qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
  23. ^
    Wales (WAL): The 2019–20 Cymru Premier and the 2019–20 Welsh Cup were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. The second-placed, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team, The New Saints, Bala Town and Barry Town United, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League by the Football Association of Wales, entering the first qualifying round and preliminary round (fourth-placed team) respectively.[40]

Schedule

[edit]

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).[41] The tournament would originally have started in June 2020, but was delayed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[42] The new schedule was announced by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17 June 2020.[43] All qualifying matches, including the play-off round, were played as single leg matches, hosted by one of the teams decided by draw.[3][44]

The group stage draw was originally to be held at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, but UEFA announced on 9 September 2020 that it would be relocated to Nyon.[45]

Note: Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Schedule for 2020–21 UEFA Europa League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 9 August 2020 20 August 2020
First qualifying round 10 August 2020 27 August 2020
Second qualifying round 31 August 2020 17 September 2020
Third qualifying round 1 September 2020 24 September 2020
Play-off Play-off round 18 September 2020 1 October 2020
Group stage Matchday 1 2 October 2020 22 October 2020
Matchday 2 29 October 2020
Matchday 3 5 November 2020
Matchday 4 26 November 2020
Matchday 5 3 December 2020
Matchday 6 10 December 2020
Knockout phase Round of 32 14 December 2020 18 February 2021 25 February 2021
Round of 16 26 February 2021 11 March 2021 18 March 2021
Quarter-finals 19 March 2021 8 April 2021 15 April 2021
Semi-finals 29 April 2021 6 May 2021
Final 26 May 2021 at Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk

The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows (all draws were to be held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).

Original schedule for 2020–21 UEFA Europa League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 9 June 2020 25 June 2020 2 July 2020
First qualifying round 16 June 2020 9 July 2020 16 July 2020
Second qualifying round 17 June 2020 23 July 2020 30 July 2020
Third qualifying round 20 July 2020 6 August 2020 13 August 2020
Play-off Play-off round 3 August 2020 20 August 2020 27 August 2020
Group stage Matchday 1 28 August 2020
(Monaco)
17 September 2020
Matchday 2 1 October 2020
Matchday 3 22 October 2020
Matchday 4 5 November 2020
Matchday 5 26 November 2020
Matchday 6 10 December 2020
Knockout phase Round of 32 14 December 2020 18 February 2021 25 February 2021
Round of 16 26 February 2021 11 March 2021 18 March 2021
Quarter-finals 19 March 2021 8 April 2021 15 April 2021
Semi-finals 29 April 2021 6 May 2021
Final 26 May 2021 at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Seville

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

[edit]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the following special rules were applicable to the competition:[46][47]

  • If there were travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented the away team from entering the home team's country or returning to their own country, the match could be played at a neutral country or the away team's country that allowed the match to take place.
  • If a team refused to play or was considered responsible for a match not taking place, they were considered to have forfeited the match. If both teams refused to play or were considered responsible for a match not taking place, both teams were disqualified.
  • If a team had players and/or officials tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus preventing them from playing the match before the deadline set by UEFA, they were considered to have forfeited the match.

On 24 September 2020, UEFA announced that five substitutions would be permitted from the group stage onward, with a sixth allowed in extra time. However, each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions during matches, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time. Consequently, a maximum of twelve players could be listed on the substitute bench.[48]

All qualifying matches were played behind closed doors.[44] Following the partial return of fans at the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, UEFA announced on 1 October 2020 that matches from the group stage onward could be played at 30% capacity if allowed by the local authorities.[49] Video assistant referees were not introduced for the group stage as planned (now to start in 2021–22), but were still used in the knockout phase.

Qualifying rounds

[edit]

Preliminary round

[edit]

The draw for the preliminary round was held on 9 August 2020, 13:00 CEST.[50] The matches were played on 18, 20 and 21 August 2020. The match between Lincoln Red Imps and Prishtina on 18 August was postponed due to the whole Prishtina team being put into quarantine after eight players had tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus. The game was rescheduled to 22 August, with Prishtina using UEFA regulations to sign on emergency loan players from rival Kosovar Superleague clubs Feronikel, Llapi, Trepca '89, Flamurtar, Ballkani, Drenica and Vushtrria in order to fulfil the fixture.[51] However the rearranged fixture also had to be cancelled after 7 more players tested positive for coronavirus, and Lincoln Red Imps were awarded a technical 3–0 win by UEFA.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Tre Penne San Marino 1–3 Kosovo Gjilani
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar 3–0
(awd.)[A]
Kosovo Prishtina
FC Santa Coloma Andorra 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–4 p)
Montenegro Iskra Danilovgrad
Engordany Andorra 1–3 Montenegro Zeta
Glentoran Northern Ireland 1–0 Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn
St Joseph's Gibraltar 1–2 Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn
Coleraine Northern Ireland 1–0 San Marino La Fiorita
NSÍ Runavík Faroe Islands 5–1 Wales Barry Town United
  1. ^ Lincoln Red Imps were awarded a 3–0 win after the match was cancelled due to Prishtina players testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.[52]

First qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 10 August 2020, 13:00 CEST.[53] Most matches were played on 25, 26 and 27 August 2020, however two matches were postponed to 9 and 10 September 2020.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Maribor Slovenia 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)
Northern Ireland Coleraine
Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia 2–1 (a.e.t.) Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík
B36 Tórshavn Faroe Islands 4–3 (a.e.t.) Estonia FCI Levadia
Riteriai Lithuania 3–2 (a.e.t.) Republic of Ireland Derry City
Žalgiris Lithuania 2–0 Estonia Paide Linnameeskond
Honvéd Hungary 2–1 (a.e.t.) Finland Inter Turku
Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–0 Luxembourg Differdange 03
Valletta Malta 0–1 Wales Bala Town
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar 2–0 Luxembourg Union Titus Pétange
Rosenborg Norway 4–2 Iceland Breiðablik
Aberdeen Scotland 6–0 Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík
Motherwell Scotland 5–1 Northern Ireland Glentoran
Hammarby IF Sweden 3–0 Hungary Puskás Akadémia
Malmö FF Sweden 2–0 Poland Cracovia
Kukësi Albania 2–1 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia
Ventspils Latvia 2–1 Moldova Dinamo-Auto
Shakhtyor Soligorsk Belarus 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(1–4 p)
Moldova Sfântul Gheorghe
Dinamo Minsk Belarus 0–2 Poland Piast Gliwice
AGF Denmark 5–2 Finland Honka
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(12–11 p)
Finland Ilves
FH Iceland 0–2 Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda
The New Saints Wales 3–1 (a.e.t.) Slovakia Žilina
Vaduz Liechtenstein 0–2 Malta Hibernians
Servette Switzerland 3–0 Slovakia Ružomberok
Neftçi Azerbaijan 2–1 North Macedonia Shkupi
Keşla Azerbaijan 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)
Albania Laçi
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel 3–0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi
Nõmme Kalju Estonia 0–4 Slovenia Mura
Bodø/Glimt Norway 6–1 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
MOL Fehérvár Hungary 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Republic of Ireland Bohemians
Apollon Limassol Cyprus 5–1 Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi
Maccabi Haifa Israel 3–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar
Alashkert Armenia 0–1 North Macedonia Renova
Partizan Serbia 1–0 Latvia RFS
Lech Poznań Poland 3–0 Latvia Valmiera
Ordabasy Kazakhstan 1–2 Romania Botoșani
FCSB Romania 3–0 Armenia Shirak
Progrès Niederkorn Luxembourg 3–0 Montenegro Zeta
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 2–1 Malta Sirens
Petrocub Hîncești Moldova 0–2 Serbia TSC Bačka Topola
Sumgayit Azerbaijan 0–2 North Macedonia Shkëndija
Kairat Kazakhstan 4–1 Armenia Noah
Locomotive Tbilisi Georgia (country) 2–1 Romania Universitatea Craiova
Teuta Albania 2–0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem
Borac Banja Luka Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić
Iskra Danilovgrad Montenegro 0–1 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Gjilani Kosovo 0–2 (a.e.t.) Cyprus APOEL

Second qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 31 August 2020, 13:00 CEST.[16] The matches were played on 16, 17 and 18 September 2020.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Champions Path
Inter Club d'Escaldes Andorra 0–1 Republic of Ireland Dundalk
KuPS Finland 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
Linfield Northern Ireland 0–1 Malta Floriana
Riga Latvia 1–0 San Marino Tre Fiori
Djurgårdens IF Sweden 2–1 Gibraltar Europa
Flora Estonia 2–1 Iceland KR
Sileks North Macedonia 0–2 Kosovo Drita
Astana Kazakhstan 0–1 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
Ararat-Armenia Armenia 4–3 (a.e.t.) Luxembourg Fola Esch
Connah's Quay Nomads Wales 0–1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Main Path
Hammarby IF Sweden 0–3 Poland Lech Poznań
Kaisar Kazakhstan 1–4 Cyprus APOEL
Mura Slovenia 3–0 Denmark AGF
Maccabi Haifa Israel 2–1 Kazakhstan Kairat
Locomotive Tbilisi Georgia (country) 2–1 Russia Dynamo Moscow
Neftçi Azerbaijan 1–3 Turkey Galatasaray
B36 Tórshavn Faroe Islands 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Wales The New Saints
Coleraine Northern Ireland 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(0–3 p)
Scotland Motherwell
IFK Göteborg Sweden 1–2 Denmark Copenhagen
TSC Bačka Topola Serbia 6–6 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)
Romania FCSB
Teuta Albania 0–4 Spain Granada
OFI Greece 0–1 Cyprus Apollon Limassol
Progrès Niederkorn Luxembourg 0–5 Netherlands Willem II
Viking Norway 0–2 Scotland Aberdeen
Standard Liège Belgium 2–0[A] Wales Bala Town
Sfântul Gheorghe Moldova 0–1 (a.e.t.) Serbia Partizan
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 2–0 Belarus BATE Borisov
Botoșani Romania 0–1 North Macedonia Shkëndija
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria 1–2 England Tottenham Hotspur
Laçi Albania 1–2 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Aris Greece 1–2 Ukraine Kolos Kovalivka
Honvéd Hungary 0–2 Sweden Malmö FF
Ventspils Latvia 1–5 Norway Rosenborg
Riteriai Lithuania 1–5 Czech Republic Slovan Liberec
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar 0–5 Scotland Rangers
Servette Switzerland 0–1 France Reims
Borac Banja Luka Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–2 Portugal Rio Ave
Renova North Macedonia 0–1 Croatia Hajduk Split
Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia 2–3 (a.e.t.) Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar
Kukësi Albania 0–4 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
DAC Dunajská Streda Slovakia 5–3 (a.e.t.) Czech Republic Jablonec
Piast Gliwice Poland 3–2 Austria Hartberg
Osijek Croatia 1–2 Switzerland Basel
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland 0–2 Italy Milan
Hibernians Malta 0–1 Hungary MOL Fehérvár
Bodø/Glimt Norway 3–1 Lithuania Žalgiris

Notes

  1. ^ Bala Town were drawn as the home team in the original draw, but the tie was switched to a home match of Standard Liège due to the inability of Bala Town to secure a suitable venue.[54]

Third qualifying round

[edit]

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 1 September 2020, 13:00 CEST.[55] The matches were played on 23 and 24 September 2020.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Champions Path
Tirana Albania Bye N/A
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria Bye N/A
Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–1 Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–5 p)
Republic of Ireland Dundalk
Ararat-Armenia Armenia 1–0 (a.e.t.) Slovenia Celje
Riga Latvia 0–1 Scotland Celtic
KuPS Finland 2–0 Lithuania Sūduva
Legia Warsaw Poland 2–0 Kosovo Drita
Faroe Islands 6–1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
Djurgårdens IF Sweden 0–1 Romania CFR Cluj
Floriana Malta 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)
Estonia Flora
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Main Path
Mura Slovenia 1–5 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
Malmö FF Sweden 5–0 Croatia Lokomotiva
Sporting CP Portugal 1–0 Scotland Aberdeen
Charleroi Belgium 2–1 (a.e.t.) Serbia Partizan
Rosenborg Norway 1–0 Turkey Alanyaspor
VfL Wolfsburg Germany 2–0 Ukraine Desna Chernihiv
MOL Fehérvár Hungary 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)
France Reims
Granada Spain 2–0 Georgia (country) Locomotive Tbilisi
Rijeka Croatia 2–0 (a.e.t.) Ukraine Kolos Kovalivka
St. Gallen Switzerland 0–1 Greece AEK Athens
LASK Austria 7–0 Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda
Milan Italy 3–2 Norway Bodø/Glimt
Shkëndija North Macedonia 1–3 England Tottenham Hotspur
Standard Liège Belgium 2–1 (a.e.t.) Serbia Vojvodina
Rostov Russia 1–2 Israel Maccabi Haifa
Willem II Netherlands 0–4 Scotland Rangers
Apollon Limassol Cyprus 0–5 Poland Lech Poznań
Beşiktaş Turkey 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)
Portugal Rio Ave
FCSB Romania 0–2 Czech Republic Slovan Liberec
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel 3–0 Scotland Motherwell
Copenhagen Denmark 3–0 Poland Piast Gliwice
Basel Switzerland 3–2 Cyprus Anorthosis
Galatasaray Turkey 2–0 Croatia Hajduk Split
Viktoria Plzeň Czech Republic 3–0 Denmark SønderjyskE
APOEL Cyprus 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 3–1 Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn

Play-off round

[edit]

The draw for the play-off round was held on 18 September 2020, 14:00 CEST.[56] The matches were played on 1 October 2020.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Champions Path
Young Boys Switzerland 3–0 Albania Tirana
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia 3–1 Estonia Flora
CFR Cluj Romania 3–1 Finland KuPS
Ararat-Armenia Armenia 1–2 Serbia Red Star Belgrade
Dynamo Brest Belarus 0–2 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–1 Scotland Celtic
Legia Warsaw Poland 0–3 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
Dundalk Republic of Ireland 3–1 Faroe Islands
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Main Path
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel 1–0 Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň
Basel Switzerland 1–3 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
Rio Ave Portugal 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(8–9 p)
Italy Milan
Rosenborg Norway 0–2 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
Sporting CP Portugal 1–4 Austria LASK
Copenhagen Denmark 0–1 Croatia Rijeka
AEK Athens Greece 2–1 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
Charleroi Belgium 1–2 Poland Lech Poznań
Malmö FF Sweden 1–3 Spain Granada
Tottenham Hotspur England 7–2 Israel Maccabi Haifa
Slovan Liberec Czech Republic 1–0 Cyprus APOEL
Standard Liège Belgium 3–1 Hungary MOL Fehérvár
Rangers Scotland 2–1 Turkey Galatasaray

Group stage

[edit]
Location of teams of the 2020–21 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.

A total of 48 teams played in the group phase: 18 teams which entered in this phase, the 21 winners of the play-off round (eight from Champions Path, thirteen from Main Path), the six losers of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League play-off round (four from Champions Path, two from League Path), and the three League Path losers of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

The draw for the group phase was held on 2 October 2020, 13:00 CEST.[57] The 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients.[58]

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 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group phase.

Antwerp, Granada, Leicester City, Omonia and Sivasspor made their debut appearances in the group stage. Furthermore, Granada qualified for any European competition for the first time in the club's history.

Location of Benelux teams of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Yellow: Group D; Red: Group E; Cyan: Group F; Turquoise: Group J; Spring Green: Group K; Orange: Group L.

Group A

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ROM YB CLJ CSS
1 Italy Roma 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 Advance to knockout phase 3–1 5–0 0–0
2 Switzerland Young Boys 6 3 1 2 9 7 +2 10 1–2 2–1 3–0
3 Romania CFR Cluj 6 1 2 3 4 10 −6 5[a] 0–2 1–1 0–0
4 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 6 1 2 3 3 7 −4 5[a] 3–1 0–1 0–2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: CFR Cluj 4, CSKA Sofia 1.

Group B

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ARS MOL RW DUN
1 England Arsenal 6 6 0 0 20 5 +15 18 Advance to knockout phase 4–1 4–1 3–0
2 Norway Molde 6 3 1 2 9 11 −2 10 0–3 1–0 3–1
3 Austria Rapid Wien 6 2 1 3 11 13 −2 7 1–2 2–2 4–3
4 Republic of Ireland Dundalk 6 0 0 6 8 19 −11 0 2–4 1–2 1–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group C

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEV SLP HBS NCE
1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 6 5 0 1 21 8 +13 15 Advance to knockout phase 4–0 4–1 6–2
2 Czech Republic Slavia Prague 6 4 0 2 11 10 +1 12 1–0 3–0 3–2
3 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 6 2 0 4 7 13 −6 6 2–4 3–1 1–0
4 France Nice 6 1 0 5 8 16 −8 3 2–3 1–3 1–0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group D

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RAN BEN STL LCH
1 Scotland Rangers 6 4 2 0 13 7 +6 14 Advance to knockout phase 2–2 3–2 1–0
2 Portugal Benfica 6 3 3 0 18 9 +9 12 3–3 3–0 4–0
3 Belgium Standard Liège 6 1 1 4 7 14 −7 4 0–2 2–2 2–1
4 Poland Lech Poznań 6 1 0 5 6 14 −8 3 0–2 2–4 3–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group E

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSV GRA PAOK OMO
1 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 6 4 0 2 12 9 +3 12 Advance to knockout phase 1–2 3–2 4–0
2 Spain Granada 6 3 2 1 6 3 +3 11 0–1 0–0 2–1
3 Greece PAOK 6 1 3 2 8 7 +1 6 4–1 0–0 1–1
4 Cyprus Omonia 6 1 1 4 5 12 −7 4 1–2 0–2 2–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group F

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NAP RSO AZ RJK
1 Italy Napoli 6 3 2 1 7 4 +3 11 Advance to knockout phase 1–1 0–1 2–0
2 Spain Real Sociedad 6 2 3 1 5 4 +1 9 0–1 1–0 2–2
3 Netherlands AZ 6 2 2 2 7 5 +2 8 1–1 0–0 4–1
4 Croatia Rijeka 6 1 1 4 6 12 −6 4 1–2 0–1 2–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group G

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEI BRA ZOR AEK
1 England Leicester City 6 4 1 1 14 5 +9 13[a] Advance to knockout phase 4–0 3–0 2–0
2 Portugal Braga 6 4 1 1 14 10 +4 13[a] 3–3 2–0 3–0
3 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 6 2 0 4 6 11 −5 6 1–0 1–2 1–4
4 Greece AEK Athens 6 1 0 5 7 15 −8 3 1–2 2–4 0–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Leicester City 4, Braga 1.

Group H

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MIL LOSC SPP CEL
1 Italy Milan 6 4 1 1 12 7 +5 13 Advance to knockout phase 0–3 3–0 4–2
2 France Lille 6 3 2 1 14 8 +6 11 1–1 2–1 2–2
3 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 6 2 0 4 10 12 −2 6 0–1 1–4 4–1
4 Scotland Celtic 6 1 1 4 10 19 −9 4 1–3 3–2 1–4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group I

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VIL MTA SIV QRB
1 Spain Villarreal 6 5 1 0 17 5 +12 16 Advance to knockout phase 4–0 5–3 3–0[a]
2 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 6 3 2 1 6 7 −1 11 1–1 1–0 1–0
3 Turkey Sivasspor 6 2 0 4 9 11 −2 6 0–1 1–2 2–0
4 Azerbaijan Qarabağ 6 0 1 5 4 13 −9 1 1–3 1–1 2–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ The Villarreal v Qarabağ match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Villarreal after being cancelled as several players of the Qarabağ squad tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2.

Group J

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TOT ANT LASK LUD
1 England Tottenham Hotspur 6 4 1 1 15 5 +10 13 Advance to knockout phase 2–0 3–0 4–0
2 Belgium Antwerp 6 4 0 2 8 5 +3 12 1–0 0–1 3–1
3 Austria LASK 6 3 1 2 11 12 −1 10 3–3 0–2 4–3
4 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 6 0 0 6 7 19 −12 0 1–3 1–2 1–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group K

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DZG WAC FEY CSM
1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 6 4 2 0 9 1 +8 14 Advance to knockout phase 1–0 0–0 3–1
2 Austria Wolfsberger AC 6 3 1 2 7 6 +1 10 0–3 1–0 1–1
3 Netherlands Feyenoord 6 1 2 3 4 8 −4 5 0–2 1–4 3–1
4 Russia CSKA Moscow 6 0 3 3 3 8 −5 3 0–0 0–1 0–0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Group L

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HOF ZVE LIB GNT
1 Germany TSG Hoffenheim 6 5 1 0 17 2 +15 16 Advance to knockout phase 2–0 5–0 4–1
2 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 6 3 2 1 9 4 +5 11 0–0 5–1 2–1
3 Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 6 2 1 3 4 13 −9 7 0–2 0–0 1–0
4 Belgium Gent 6 0 0 6 4 15 −11 0 1–4 0–2 1–2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Knockout phase

[edit]

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 cannot be drawn against each other.
  • In the draws for the round of 16 onwards, 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).

Bracket

[edit]
Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                  
Austria Wolfsberger AC 1 0 1
England Tottenham Hotspur 4 4 8
England Tottenham Hotspur 2 0 2
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb (a.e.t.) 0 3 3
Russia Krasnodar 2 0 2
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 3 1 4
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 0 1 1
Spain Villarreal 1 2 3
Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 1 1 2
Belgium Club Brugge 1 0 1
Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 0 0 0
Spain Villarreal 2 2 4
Austria Red Bull Salzburg 0 1 1
Spain Villarreal 2 2 4
Spain Villarreal 2 0 2
England Arsenal 1 0 1
Greece Olympiacos 4 1 5
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 2 2 4
Greece Olympiacos 1 1 2
England Arsenal 3 0 3
Portugal Benfica 1 2 3
England Arsenal 1 3 4
England Arsenal 1 4 5
Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1 0 1
Czech Republic Slavia Prague 0 2 2
England Leicester City 0 0 0
Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1 2 3
Scotland Rangers 1 0 1
Belgium Antwerp 3 2 5
Scotland Rangers 4 5 9
Spain Villarreal (p) 1 (11)
England Manchester United 1 (10)
Spain Granada 2 1 3
Italy Napoli 0 2 2
Spain Granada 2 1 3
Norway Molde 0 2 2
Norway Molde 3 2 5
Germany TSG Hoffenheim 3 0 3
Spain Granada 0 0 0
England Manchester United 2 2 4
Spain Real Sociedad 0 0 0
England Manchester United 4 0 4
England Manchester United 1 1 2
Italy Milan 1 0 1
Serbia Red Star Belgrade 2 1 3
Italy Milan (a) 2 1 3
England Manchester United 6 2 8
Italy Roma 2 3 5
France Lille 1 1 2
Netherlands Ajax 2 2 4
Netherlands Ajax 3 2 5
Switzerland Young Boys 0 0 0
Switzerland Young Boys 4 2 6
Germany Bayer Leverkusen 3 0 3
Netherlands Ajax 1 1 2
Italy Roma 2 1 3
Portugal Braga 0 1 1
Italy Roma 2 3 5
Italy Roma 3 2 5
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 0 1 1
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 0 0 0
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 2 1 3

Round of 32

[edit]

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2020, 13:00 CET.[59] The first legs were played on 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2021.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Wolfsberger AC Austria 1–8 England Tottenham Hotspur 1–4 0–4
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine 2–1 Belgium Club Brugge 1–1 1–0
Real Sociedad Spain 0–4 England Manchester United 0–4 0–0
Benfica Portugal 3–4 England Arsenal 1–1 2–3
Red Star Belgrade Serbia 3–3 (a) Italy Milan 2–2 1–1
Antwerp Belgium 5–9 Scotland Rangers 3–4 2–5
Slavia Prague Czech Republic 2–0 England Leicester City 0–0 2–0
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 1–4 Spain Villarreal 0–2 1–2
Braga Portugal 1–5 Italy Roma 0–2 1–3
Krasnodar Russia 2–4 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 2–3 0–1
Young Boys Switzerland 6–3 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 4–3 2–0
Molde Norway 5–3 Germany TSG Hoffenheim 3–3 2–0
Granada Spain 3–2 Italy Napoli 2–0 1–2
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 0–3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 0–2 0–1
Lille France 2–4 Netherlands Ajax 1–2 1–2
Olympiacos Greece 5–4 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 4–2 1–2

Round of 16

[edit]

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2021, 13:00 CET.[60] The first legs were played on 11 March, and the second legs were played on 18 March 2021.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ajax Netherlands 5–0 Switzerland Young Boys 3–0 2–0
Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine 0–4 Spain Villarreal 0–2 0–2
Roma Italy 5–1 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3–0 2–1
Olympiacos Greece 2–3 England Arsenal 1–3 1–0
Tottenham Hotspur England 2–3[A] Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 2–0 0–3 (a.e.t.)
Manchester United England 2–1 Italy Milan 1–1 1–0
Slavia Prague Czech Republic 3–1 Scotland Rangers 1–1 2–0
Granada Spain 3–2 Norway Molde 2–0 1–2

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb were reversed after original draw, in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Arsenal v Olympiacos second leg in the same city on 18 March, as Arsenal were the domestic cup winners and given higher priority over Tottenham Hotspur.[61][62]

Quarter-finals

[edit]

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET.[63] The first legs were played on 8 April, and the second legs were played on 15 April 2021.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Granada Spain 0–4 England Manchester United 0–2 0–2
Arsenal England 5–1 Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–1 4–0
Ajax Netherlands 2–3 Italy Roma 1–2 1–1
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia 1–3 Spain Villarreal 0–1 1–2

Semi-finals

[edit]

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET, after the quarter-final draw.[63] The first legs were played on 29 April, and the second legs were played on 6 May 2021.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Manchester United England 8–5 Italy Roma 6–2 2–3
Villarreal