Real Madrid vs Manchester City, Arsenal vs Bayern, PSG vs Barcelona and Atlético vs Dortmund. All looking to progress.
So many mouth watering double-headers lined up for the 2023/24 Champions League quarter finals with Real Madrid welcoming Manchester City and Arsenal hosting Bayern Munich on the Tuesday getting the first legs going. Wednesday’s schedule pitted PSG against Barcelona and Atlético Madrid against Borussia Dortmund.
But with home-and-away games taking place, the same as in the previous round of 16 and in the semi finals when they come, questions remain about what happens if the number of goals scored in the two games cannot separate them. Here’s a breakdown of how those close encounters are decided.
Do Champions League away goals count as double?
Back when the 2021/22 Champions League knockout stage got underway, an important change to the rules was introduced, one which affected something that had determined so many games in previous editions of the tournament. The decision itself was made in the summer of 2021, when UEFA abolished what was known as ‘the away goals rule’ in all two-legged European ties.
Introduced in 1965, the away goals rule stated that all goals scored by the visiting team in both home and away legs would count as double if the aggregate score ended level.
Game tied? Extra-time, then penalties
Obviously the first leg of these knockout clashes is not impacted by this rule – the game ends after normal time – but if the aggregate score is level at the end of regulation time of the second leg, the game will go to extra-time - a total of 30 minutes, teams changing ends after each 15-minute period.
After that, if the score is still tied, the game will be decided from the penalty spot - a shootout involving five players from each side which will go to sudden death if the score remains level after both teams have taken all of their five spot-kicks.
UEFA gave examples of statistics to illustrate their decision to make the historic change. “Statistics since the mid-1970s show a clear trend of continuous reduction in the gap between the number of home-away wins (from 61%-19% to 47%-30%) and the average number of goals per match scored at home-away (from 2.02-0.95 to 1.58-1.15) in men’s competitions”.
Why did UEFA abolish the away goals rule?
The reasons why it was time to get rid of the away goals rule became clear in the most recent editions of the tournament. Teams playing the first leg at home would often simply focus on avoiding conceding any goals at all - even if that meant putting 10 men behind the ball and defending for 90 minutes. It didn’t make for entertaining football. Teams parking the bus in the first leg put the visiting team at a disadvantage later, when the tie was to be decided at their ground.
But even without the away goals rule, teams who play the second leg at home will have an advantage if the tie ends level after 180 minutes as they will have the comfort of playing extra-time and, if need be, a penalty shootout in front of their own fans. It’s all about finding the right balance for the rules makers.
What happened in the Champions League round of 16 first legs?
Tuesday, 13 February
Wednesday, 14 February
Tuesday, 20 February
Wednesday, 21 February
Champions League round of 16 second legs:
Tuesday, 5 March
Bayern 3-0 Lazio (Bayern win 3-1 on aggregate)
Real Sociedad 1-2 PSG (PSG win 4-1 on aggregate)
Wednesday, 6 March
Man City 3-1 Copenhagen (Man City win 6-2 on aggregate)
Real Madrid 1-1 RB Leipzig (Real Madrid win 2-1 on aggregate)
Tuesday, 12 March
Barcelona 3-1 Napoli (Barcelona win 4-2 on aggregate)
Arsenal 1-0 Porto (1-1 on aggregate aet; Arsenal win 4-2 on penalties)
Wednesday, 13 March
Atlético Madrid 2-1 Inter (2-2 on aggregate; Atlético win 3-2 on penalties)
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 PSV Eindhoven (Dortmund win 3-1 on aggregate)
What are the Champions League quarter finals?
The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (i.e. home/away team) took place on Friday 15 March.
UCL quarter-finals
First legs: 9/10 April
Real Madrid vs Manchester City, Arsenal vs Bayern, PSG vs Barcelona, Atlético vs Dortmund
Second legs: 16/17 April
Manchester City vs Real Madrid , Bayern vs Arsenal, Barcelona vs PSG, Dortmund vs Atlético
UCL semi-finals
Atlético de Madrid / Dortmund vs Paris / Barcelona
Arsenal / Bayern vs Real Madrid / Manchester City
First legs: 30 April / 1 May and
Second legs: 7/8 May
Final
Saturday 1 June 2024
While the rest of the knockout rounds are played over two legs, the final will be a one-off tie at Wembley Stadium.
The iconic London ground hosted the 2011 and 2013 Champions League finals, in which Barcelona defeated Manchester United and Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund respectively.