The knockout phase of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League began on 15 February and concluded on 18 May 2011 with the final at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The knockout phase involved 32 teams: the 24 teams that finished in the top two in each group in the group stage and the eight teams that finished in third place in the UEFA Champions League group stage.[1]
Times up to end of March are CET (UTC+1), thereafter times are CEST (UTC+2).
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 had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finished level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progressed. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time were played, divided into two halves of 15 minutes each. 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 qualified by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie waa decided via a penalty shoot-out. In the final, the tie was played as a single match. If scores were level at the end of normal time in the final, extra time was played, followed by penalties if scores remained tied.
In the draw for the round of 32, the twelve group winners and the four better third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage (based on their match record in the group stage) were seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage were unseeded. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the seeded team hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association could not 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 with each other.
All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[2]
| Phase | Round | Draw date and time | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 17 December 2010 13:00 CET | 17 February 2011 | 24 February 2011 |
| Round of 16 | 10 March 2011 | 17 March 2011 | ||
| Quarter-finals | 18 March 2011 13:00 CET | 7 April 2011 | 14 April 2011 | |
| Semi-finals | 28 April 2011 | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Final | 18 May 2011 at Aviva Stadium, Dublin | |||
Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
| Key to colours | |
|---|---|
| Seeded in round of 32 draw | |
| Unseeded in round of 32 draw |
| Group | width=180 | Winners | width=180 | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Manchester City | Lech Poznań | ||
| B | Bayer Leverkusen | Aris | ||
| C | Sporting CP | Lille | ||
| D | Villarreal | PAOK | ||
| E | Dynamo Kyiv | BATE Borisov | ||
| F | CSKA Moscow | Sparta Prague | ||
| G | Zenit Saint Petersburg | Anderlecht | ||
| H | VfB Stuttgart | Young Boys | ||
| I | PSV Eindhoven | Metalist Kharkiv | ||
| J | Paris Saint-Germain | Sevilla | ||
| K | Liverpool | Napoli | ||
| L | Porto |
| Group | width=175 | Third-placed team | width=30 | width=30 | width=30 | width=30 | width=30 | width=30 | width=35 | width=30 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Spartak Moscow | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 9 | |||||||||
| H | Braga | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 9 | |||||||||
| G | Ajax | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 7 | |||||||||
| A | Twente | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 6 | |||||||||
| D | Rubin Kazan | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 6 | |||||||||
| E | Basel | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 | |||||||||
| C | Rangers | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 6 | |||||||||
| B | Benfica | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 6 |
The first legs were played on 15 and 17 February, and the second legs were played on 22, 23 and 24 February 2011.
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CSKA Moscow won 2–1 on aggregate.----2–2 on aggregate; Porto won on away goals.----Zenit Saint Petersburg won 4–3 on aggregate.----3–3 on aggregate; Rangers won on away goals.----Liverpool won 1–0 on aggregate.----Spartak Moscow won 4–3 on aggregate.----PSV Eindhoven won 5–3 on aggregate.----Bayer Leverkusen won 6–0 on aggregate.----Villarreal won 2–1 on aggregate.----Ajax won 5–0 on aggregate.----Braga won 2–1 on aggregate.----Dynamo Kyiv won 8–1 on aggregate.----Manchester City won 3–0 on aggregate.----Twente won 4–2 on aggregate.----Benfica won 4–1 on aggregate.----2–2 on aggregate; Paris Saint-Germain won on away goals.
The first legs were played on 10 March, and the second legs were played on 17 March 2011.
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Benfica won 3–2 on aggregate.----Dynamo Kyiv won 2–1 on aggregate.----Twente won 3–2 on aggregate.----Spartak Moscow won 4–0 on aggregate.----Porto won 3–1 on aggregate.----PSV Eindhoven won 1–0 on aggregate.----Villarreal won 5–3 on aggregate.----Braga won 1–0 on aggregate.
The first legs were played on 7 April, and the second legs were played on 14 April 2011.
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Porto won 10–3 on aggregate.----Benfica won 6–3 on aggregate.----Villarreal won 8–2 on aggregate.----1–1 on aggregate; Braga won on away goals.
The first legs were played on 28 April, and the second legs were played on 5 May 2011.
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2–2 on aggregate; Braga won on away goals.----Porto won 7–4 on aggregate.
See main article: 2011 UEFA Europa League final.
The 2011 UEFA Europa League final was played on 18 May 2011 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Due to UEFA rules against corporate sponsorship outside the federation, for the final the stadium was referred to as the "Dublin Arena".