The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase began on 18 February with the round of 32 and ended on 26 May 2021 with the final at Stadion Miejski in Gdańsk, Poland, to decide the champions of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[1] A total of 32 teams competed in the knockout phase.[2]
Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
The knockout phase involved 32 teams: the 24 teams which qualified as winners and runners-up of each of the twelve groups in the group stage, and the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.
Group | Winners (seeded in round of 32 draw) |
Runners-up (unseeded in round of 32 draw) |
---|---|---|
A | Roma | Young Boys |
B | Arsenal | Molde |
C | Bayer Leverkusen | Slavia Prague |
D | Rangers | Benfica |
E | PSV Eindhoven | Granada |
F | Napoli | Real Sociedad |
G | Leicester City | Braga |
H | Milan | Lille |
I | Villarreal | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
J | Tottenham Hotspur | Antwerp |
K | Dinamo Zagreb | Wolfsberger AC |
L | TSG Hoffenheim | Red Star Belgrade |
Seed | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Seeding |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | H | Manchester United | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 9 | Seeded in round of 32 draw |
2 | F | Club Brugge | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | |
3 | B | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 8 | |
4 | D | Ajax | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
5 | E | Krasnodar | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | Unseeded in round of 32 draw |
6 | A | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 4 | |
7 | G | Dynamo Kyiv | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 4 | |
8 | C | Olympiacos | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 3 |
Each tie in the knockout phase, apart from the final, was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then extra time was played. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e. if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the final, which was played as a single match, if the score was level at the end of normal time, extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score was still level.[2]
The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:
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 political unrest between the countries.[4]
In the knockout phase, teams from the same or nearby cities (Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur) were not scheduled to play at home on the same day, due to logistics and crowd control. To avoid such scheduling conflicts, UEFA had to make adjustments. For the round of 32, since both teams were seeded and play the second leg at home, the home match of the team that was not domestic cup champions in the qualifying season, or the team with the lower domestic ranking (if neither team were the domestic cup champions, i.e. Tottenham Hotspur for this season), was moved from Thursday to Wednesday.[5] For the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, if the two teams were drawn to play at home for the same leg, the order of legs of the tie involving the team with the lowest priority was reversed from the original draw.[6]
The schedule was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).
Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
---|---|---|---|
Round of 32 | 14 December 2020, 13:00 | 18 February 2021 | 25 February 2021 |
Round of 16 | 26 February 2021, 13:00 | 11 March 2021 | 18 March 2021 |
Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021, 13:00 | 8 April 2021 | 15 April 2021 |
Semi-finals | 29 April 2021 | 6 May 2021 | |
Final | 26 May 2021 at Stadion Miejski, Gdańsk |
The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2020, 13:00 CET.[7]
The first legs were played on 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2021.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wolfsberger AC | 1–8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–4 | 0–4 |
Dynamo Kyiv | 2–1 | Club Brugge | 1–1 | 1–0 |
Real Sociedad | 0–4 | Manchester United | 0–4 | 0–0 |
Benfica | 3–4 | Arsenal | 1–1 | 2–3 |
Red Star Belgrade | 3–3 (a) | Milan | 2–2 | 1–1 |
Antwerp | 5–9 | Rangers | 3–4 | 2–5 |
Slavia Prague | 2–0 | Leicester City | 0–0 | 2–0 |
Red Bull Salzburg | 1–4 | Villarreal | 0–2 | 1–2 |
Braga | 1–5 | Roma | 0–2 | 1–3 |
Krasnodar | 2–4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2–3 | 0–1 |
Young Boys | 6–3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4–3 | 2–0 |
Molde | 5–3 | TSG Hoffenheim | 3–3 | 2–0 |
Granada | 3–2 | Napoli | 2–0 | 1–2 |
Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–2 | 0–1 |
Lille | 2–4 | Ajax | 1–2 | 1–2 |
Olympiacos | 5–4 | PSV Eindhoven | 4–2 | 1–2 |
Wolfsberger AC | 1–4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
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Report |
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Tottenham Hotspur | 4–0 | Wolfsberger AC |
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Report |
Tottenham Hotspur won 8–1 on aggregate.
Dynamo Kyiv | 1–1 | Club Brugge |
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Report |
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Dynamo Kyiv won 2–1 on aggregate.
Real Sociedad | 0–4 | Manchester United |
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Report |
Manchester United | 0–0 | Real Sociedad |
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Report |
Manchester United won 4–0 on aggregate.
Arsenal | 3–2 | Benfica |
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Report |
Arsenal won 4–3 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Milan won on away goals.
Rangers | 5–2 | Antwerp |
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Report |
Rangers won 9–5 on aggregate.
Leicester City | 0–2 | Slavia Prague |
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Report |
Slavia Prague won 2–0 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 4–1 on aggregate.
Roma | 3–1 | Braga |
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Report |
Roma won 5–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 4–2 on aggregate.
Young Boys | 4–3 | Bayer Leverkusen |
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Report |
Bayer Leverkusen | 0–2 | Young Boys |
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Report |
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Young Boys won 6–3 on aggregate.
Molde | 3–3 | TSG Hoffenheim |
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Report |
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Molde won 5–3 on aggregate.
Granada won 3–2 on aggregate.
Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–2 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
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Report |
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Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–0 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
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Report |
Shakhtar Donetsk won 3–0 on aggregate.
Ajax | 2–1 | Lille |
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Report |
Ajax won 4–2 on aggregate.
Olympiacos | 4–2 | PSV Eindhoven |
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Report |
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Olympiacos won 5–4 on aggregate.
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2021, 13:00 CET.[47]
The first legs were played on 11 March, and the second legs were played on 18 March 2021.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ajax | 5–0 | Young Boys | 3–0 | 2–0 |
Dynamo Kyiv | 0–4 | Villarreal | 0–2 | 0–2 |
Roma | 5–1 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3–0 | 2–1 |
Olympiacos | 2–3 | Arsenal | 1–3 | 1–0 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 2–3[A] | Dinamo Zagreb | 2–0 | 0–3 (a.e.t.) |
Manchester United | 2–1 | Milan | 1–1 | 1–0 |
Slavia Prague | 3–1 | Rangers | 1–1 | 2–0 |
Granada | 3–2 | Molde | 2–0 | 1–2 |
Notes
Ajax | 3–0 | Young Boys |
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Report |
Young Boys | 0–2 | Ajax |
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Report |
Ajax won 5–0 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 4–0 on aggregate.
Roma | 3–0 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
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|
Report |
Roma won 5–1 on aggregate.
Olympiacos | 1–3 | Arsenal |
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|
Report |
Arsenal won 3–2 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Dinamo Zagreb |
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|
Report |
Dinamo Zagreb won 3–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United | 1–1 | Milan |
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|
Report |
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Manchester United won 2–1 on aggregate.
Slavia Prague | 1–1 | Rangers |
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Report |
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Rangers | 0–2 | Slavia Prague |
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Report |
Slavia Prague won 3–1 on aggregate.
Granada won 3–2 on aggregate.
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET.[66]
The first legs were played on 8 April, and the second legs were played on 15 April 2021.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Granada | 0–4 | Manchester United | 0–2 | 0–2 |
Arsenal | 5–1 | Slavia Prague | 1–1 | 4–0 |
Ajax | 2–3 | Roma | 1–2 | 1–1 |
Dinamo Zagreb | 1–3 | Villarreal | 0–1 | 1–2 |
Manchester United | 2–0 | Granada |
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Report |
Manchester United won 4–0 on aggregate.
Arsenal | 1–1 | Slavia Prague |
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Report |
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Slavia Prague | 0–4 | Arsenal |
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Report |
Arsenal won 5–1 on aggregate.
Roma won 3–2 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 3–1 on aggregate.
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET, after the quarter-final draw.[66]
The first legs were played on 29 April, and the second legs were played on 6 May 2021.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Manchester United | 8–5 | Roma | 6–2 | 2–3 |
Villarreal | 2–1 | Arsenal | 2–1 | 0–0 |
Manchester United | 6–2 | Roma |
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Report |
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Manchester United won 8–5 on aggregate.
Villarreal | 2–1 | Arsenal |
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Report |
Arsenal | 0–0 | Villarreal |
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Report |
Villarreal won 2–1 on aggregate.
The final was played on 26 May 2021 at the Stadion Miejski in Gdańsk. A draw was held on 19 March 2021, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.[66]
Villarreal | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Manchester United |
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Penalties | ||
11–10 |