A nail-biter in the Champions League
The group stage of the 2022/23 Champions League season is history and has brought some surprises. With FC Barcelona, Juventus Turin and Atlético Madrid three heavyweights had to bow out after the first round, in only five of the eight groups the club with the highest squad value came first. It was particularly tight in Group H, where Paris Saint-Germain ended up ranked behind Benfica only on fewer away goals scored. With this constellation, a special scenario almost came about.
After six games each, the French champions and the top Portuguese club tied for the first two places with 14 points. In contrast to many national leagues, the direct comparison then applies in the “premier class”. Since this was also balanced in terms of points and goals (the first and second leg ended 1-1) and the goal difference was identical in all games at 16:9, the more away goals scored decided in favor of Benfica.
Frankfurt as an outsider: Champions League round of 16 by squad values
Coach Roger Schmidt had to explain this rule to his own players after the 6-1 (1-1) win at Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday evening, as it was not generally known. “I congratulated the players because they did a great job, they played at a great level,” he said afterwards. After 22 games this season, Schmidt is still unbeaten with Benfica.
Fair play score in the Champions League: PSG would have been preferred to Benfica
The “Adler” had scored nine goals in three games away from home, while Paris had scored six. The constellation would have been particularly strange if this number had also been identical. Since the next two points in the UEFA regulations – the number of wins (four each) and away wins (two each) – were also the same, point number 10 should have decided: the fair play score.
In this case, UEFA uses a points system that rewards fair behavior. Red and yellow-red cards give three points, yellow cards one. The club with the lower score on this scale would have been given preference, in Group H it would have been PSG. With eleven warnings and no sending off, Sergio Ramos & Co. played a fairer preliminary round than Benfica (13 yellow cards, 0 red cards).
Champion League Group Stage: These criteria apply in the event of a tie
1. Points in direct duels
2. Goal difference in direct duels
3. Goals in direct duels
4. If at least two teams are still balanced after applying criteria 1 to 3, criteria 1 to 3 are only applied to the head-to-head duels between the teams that are still balanced. (This criterion is only relevant if more than two clubs have previously tied on points and therefore does not apply to Benfica and PSG.)
5. Total goal difference in the group stage
6. Total goals in the group stage
7. Total away goals in group stage
8. Total number of wins in the group stage
9. Total number of away wins in the group stage
10. Lowest fair play score in the group stage based on the number of yellow and red cards (red = 3 points, yellow-red = 3 points, yellow = 1 point)
11. Club Coefficient
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