2015–16 UEFA Champions League explained

Tourney Name:	UEFA Champions League
Year:	2015–16
Size:	285px
Dates:	Qualifying: 30 June – 26 August 2015 Competition proper: 15 September 2015 – 28 May 2016
Num Teams:	Competition proper: 32 Total: 78
Associations:	53
Champion Other:	Real Madrid
Count:	11
Second Other:	Atlético Madrid
Matches:	125
Goals:	347
Top Scorer:	Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 16 goals
Prevseason:	2014–15
Nextseason:	2016–17

The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were the title holders, but were eliminated by Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals.

The final was played between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at the San Siro in Milan, Italy,^[1] with Real defeating Atlético 5–3 on penalties (1–1 after extra time) to win a record-extending eleventh European Cup/Champions League title. It was the second time in the tournament's history that both finalists were from the same city, after the same clubs faced each other in the 2014 final.

As the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid qualified as the UEFA representative for the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan (their third Club World Cup appearance),^[2] and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup.^[3] Madrid won both competitions.

Format changes

The UEFA Executive Committee held in May 2013 approved the following changes to the UEFA Champions League starting from the 2015–16 season (for the three-year cycle until the 2017–18 season):^[4]

• The winners of the previous season's UEFA Europa League will qualify for the UEFA Champions League. They will enter at least the play-off round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used.
• The previous limit of a maximum of four teams per association will be increased to five, meaning that if the Champions League title holders or the Europa League title holders are from the top three ranked associations (but not both from the same one) and finish outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association will not be prevented from participating in the tournament. However, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders are from the same top three ranked association and finish outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association will be moved to the Europa League.^[5]

Association team allocation

A total of 78 teams from 53 of the 54 UEFA member associations participated in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which does not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:^[6]

• Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify.
• Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify.
• Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify.
• Associations 16–54 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.
• The winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and 2014–15 UEFA Europa League were each given an additional entry if they would not qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league. Because a maximum of five teams from one association can enter the UEFA Champions League, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders were from the same top three ranked association and finished outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association would be moved to the Europa League.^[7] For this season:
  • The winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, Barcelona, qualified through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Champions League title holders was not necessary.
  • The winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, did not qualify through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Europa League title holders was necessary.

Association ranking

For the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2014 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2009–10 to 2013–14.^{[8] [9]}

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

• – Additional berth for Europa League title holders

Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes 1 Spain 97.713 align=center rowspan=3 4 2 England 84.748 3 Germany 81.641 4 Italy 66.938 align=center rowspan=3 3 5 Portugal 62.299 6 France 56.500 7 Russia 46.998 align=center rowspan=9 2 8 Netherlands 44.312 9 Ukraine 40.966 10 Belgium 36.300 11 Turkey 34.200 12 Greece 33.600 13 Switzerland 33.225 14 Austria 30.925 15 Czech Republic 29.350 16 Romania 27.257 align=center rowspan=3 1 17 Israel 26.875 18 Cyprus 23.250

Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes 19 Denmark 21.300 align=center rowspan=18 1 20 Croatia 19.625 21 Poland 18.875 22 Belarus 18.625 23 Scotland 16.566 24 Sweden 16.325 25 Bulgaria 15.625 26 Norway 14.275 27 Serbia 14.125 28 Hungary 11.625 29 Slovenia 11.000 30 Slovakia 11.000 31 Moldova 10.375 32 Azerbaijan 10.375 33 Georgia 9.875 34 Kazakhstan 8.250 35 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.500 36 Finland 7.175

Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes 37 Iceland 6.750 align=center rowspan=9 1 38 Latvia 6.250 39 Montenegro 6.000 40 Albania 5.500 41 Lithuania 5.250 42 Macedonia 5.250 43 Republic of Ireland 5.125 44 Luxembourg 4.875 45 Malta 4.833 46 Liechtenstein 4.500 0 47 Northern Ireland 3.625 align=center rowspan=8 1 48 Wales 3.000 49 Armenia 2.875 50 Estonia 2.875 51 Faroe Islands 2.125 52 San Marino 0.999 53 Andorra 0.833 54 Gibraltar 0.000

Distribution

In the default access list, the Champions League title holders enter the group stage.^{[10] [11]} However, since Barcelona already qualified for the group stage (as the champions of the 2014–15 La Liga), the Champions League title holders berth in the group stage is given to the Europa League title holders, Sevilla.^{[12] [13]} and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:

• The third-placed teams of associations 4 (Italy) and 5 (Portugal) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.

		Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round (8 teams)		8 champions from associations 47–54
Second qualifying round (34 teams)		30 champions from associations 16–46 (except Liechtenstein)	4 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round	Champions Route (20 teams)	3 champions from associations 13–15	17 winners from the second qualifying round
	League Route (10 teams)	9 runners-up from associations 7–15 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off round	Champions Route (10 teams)		10 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Route)
	League Route (10 teams)	2 third-placed teams from associations 4–5 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3	5 winners from the third qualifying round (League Route)
Group stage (32 teams)		Europa League title holders 12 champions from associations 1–12 6 runners-up from associations 1–6 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3	5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Route) 5 winners from the play-off round (League Route)
Knockout phase (16 teams)			8 group winners from the group stage 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season qualified via league position shown in parentheses. Sevilla qualified as Europa League title holders. (TH: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).^{[14] [15]}

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).^{[10] [16] [17]}

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying	First qualifying round	22 June 2015	30 June–1 July 2015	7–8 July 2015
	Second qualifying round		14–15 July 2015	21–22 July 2015
	Third qualifying round	17 July 2015	28–29 July 2015	4–5 August 2015
Play-off	Play-off round	7 August 2015	18–19 August 2015	25–26 August 2015
Group stage	Matchday 1	27 August 2015 (Monaco)	15–16 September 2015
	Matchday 2		29–30 September 2015
	Matchday 3		20–21 October 2015
	Matchday 4		3–4 November 2015
	Matchday 5		24–25 November 2015
	Matchday 6		8–9 December 2015
Knockout phase	Round of 16	14 December 2015	16–17 & 23–24 February 2016	8–9 & 15–16 March 2016
	Quarter-finals	18 March 2016	5–6 April 2016	12–13 April 2016
	Semi-finals	15 April 2016	26–27 April 2016	3–4 May 2016
	Final		28 May 2016 at San Siro, Milan

Qualifying rounds

See main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round.

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2015 UEFA club coefficients,^{[18] [19] [20]} and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on 22 June 2015.^{[21] [22]} The first legs were played on 30 June and 1 July, and the second legs were played on 7 July 2015.

Lincoln Red Imps became the first Gibraltar team to win a tie in a UEFA competition, two years after Gibraltar's teams were first admitted entry.^[23]

Second qualifying round

The first legs were played on 14 and 15 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 July 2015.

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015.^{[24] [25]} The first legs were played on 28 and 29 July, and the second legs were played on 4 and 5 August 2015.

Play-off round

See main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League play-off round.

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage.

The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2015.^{[26] [27]} The first legs were played on 18 and 19 August, and the second legs were played on 25 and 26 August 2015.

Group stage

See main article: article and 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 27 August 2015.^{[28] [29]} The 32 teams were drawn into eight 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 the following principles (introduced starting this season):^{[30] [31]}

• Pot 1 contained the title holders and the champions of the top seven associations based on their 2014 UEFA country coefficients.^{[8] [9]} As the title holders (Barcelona) were one of the champions of the top seven associations, the champions of the association ranked eighth (Netherlands' PSV Eindhoven) were also seeded into Pot 1 (regulations Article 13.05).^[6]
• Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2015 UEFA club coefficients.^{[18] [19] [20]}

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 16, while the third-placed teams entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League round of 32. The matchdays were 15–16 September, 29–30 September, 20–21 October, 3–4 November, 24–25 November, and 8–9 December 2015.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualified for the group stage also played in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League on the same matchdays, where they competed in the UEFA Champions League Path (with the UEFA Youth League expanded to 64 teams, the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations compete in a separate Domestic Champions Path until the play-offs).

A total of 17 national associations were represented in the group stage. Astana, Borussia Mönchengladbach and KAA Gent made their debut appearances in the group stage. Astana were the first team from Kazakhstan to play in the Champions League group stage.^[32] With the maximum teams from the same association in the group stage increased from four to five, Spain became the first association to have five teams in the Champions League group stage.^[33] Since all three qualifying teams from the highest ranked leagues won their ties in the league route playoff round, the three countries of Spain, England and Germany had 13 of the 32 clubs in the group stage.

Group H

Knockout phase

See main article: article and 2015–16 UEFA Champions League knockout phase.

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 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight group runners-up 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 could not be drawn against each other.
• In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other.

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 14 December 2015.^{[34] [35]} The first legs were played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February, and the second legs were played on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March 2016.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2016.^{[36] [37]} The first legs were played on 5 and 6 April, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 April 2016.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 April 2016.^{[38] [39]} The first legs were played on 26 and 27 April, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 May 2016.

Final

See main article: article and 2016 UEFA Champions League Final. The final was played on 28 May 2016 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy.^[40] The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw.^[38]

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Team	Goals	Minutes played
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	16	1109
2	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	9	942
3	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	8	810
	Thomas Müller	Bayern Munich		926
5	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid	7	1135
6	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	6	630
	Artem Dzyuba	Zenit Saint Petersburg		633
8	Olivier Giroud	Arsenal	5	384
	Javier Hernández	Bayer Leverkusen		487
	Willian	Chelsea		642
	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain		880

Squad of the Season

The UEFA Technical Study Group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament.^[41]

	Name	Team
	Jan Oblak	Atlético Madrid
	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich
	Diego Godín	Atlético Madrid
	Juanfran	Atlético Madrid
	Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain
	Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid
	Marcelo	Real Madrid
	Gabi	Atlético Madrid
	Koke	Atlético Madrid
	Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona
	Toni Kroos	Real Madrid
	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid
	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid
	Luis Suárez	Barcelona
	Lionel Messi	Barcelona
	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich
	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid
	Gareth Bale	Real Madrid

See also

• 2015–16 UEFA Europa League
• 2015–16 UEFA Youth League
• 2016 UEFA Super Cup
• 2016 FIFA Club World Cup
• 2015–16 UEFA Women's Champions League

External links

• 2015–16 UEFA Champions League

Notes and References

1. Web site: Milan to host 2016 UEFA Champions League final. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 September 2014.
2. Web site: Real Madrid crowned kings of Europe. https://web.archive.org/web/20160530205935/http://www.fifa.com/live-scores/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid/279/294/4/index.html. dead. May 30, 2016. FIFA.com. 28 May 2016.
3. Web site: Real Madrid play Sevilla in UEFA Super Cup. UEFA.com. 29 May 2016.
4. Web site: Added bonus for UEFA Europa League winners. UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2013.
5. Web site: UEFA Access List 2015/18 with explanations. Bert Kassies.
6. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2015/16 Season. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 May 2015.
7. Web site: How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 February 2015.
8. Web site: Country coefficients 2013/14. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
9. Web site: UEFA Country Ranking 2014. Bert Kassies.
10. Web site: Preliminary Access List 2015/16. Bert Kassies.
11. Web site: UEFA Champions League Access List 2015/16 . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160404162117/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2016/accesslist/index.html . 4 April 2016 .
12. Web site: Access list 2015/2016 . Bert Kassies . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150810160506/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/access2015.html . 10 August 2015 .
13. Web site: Who is in Champions League and Europa League?. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 June 2015.
14. Web site: 2015/16 UEFA Champions League participants . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 18 June 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160128070848/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2016/accesslist/listofparticipants/index.html . 28 January 2016 .
15. Web site: Qualification for European Cup Football 2015/2016 . Bert Kassies . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150427003339/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/qual2015.html . 27 April 2015 .
16. Web site: 2015/16 Champions League: teams, draws, matches. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
17. Web site: UEFA European Football Calendar 2015/2016 . Bert Kassies . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141221150453/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/calendar2015.html . 21 December 2014 .
18. Web site: Club coefficients 2014/15. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
19. Web site: UEFA Team Ranking 2015. Bert Kassies.
20. Web site: Seeding in the Champions League 2015/2016. Bert Kassies. 16 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150707055925/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/seedcl2015.html. 7 July 2015. dead.
21. Web site: Draws — First and second qualifying rounds. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2015.
22. Web site: Qualifying round draws start road to Milan . UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2015 . 22 June 2015.
23. Web site: Crusaders, Lincoln, TNS and Pyunik go through. 7 July 2015. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
24. Web site: Draws — Third qualifying round. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 July 2015.
25. Web site: Champions League third qualifying round draw . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 17 July 2015 . 17 July 2015 .
26. Web site: Draws — Play-off round . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 7 August 2015 .
27. Web site: UEFA Champions League play-off draw made . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 7 August 2015 . 7 August 2015 .
28. Web site: Draws — Group stage. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 August 2015.
29. Web site: UEFA Champions League group stage draw. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 August 2015.
30. Web site: Champions League: Domestic title winners to receive top-seed status. BBC Sport. 9 October 2014.
31. Web site: Champions' bonus for group stage draw. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 April 2015.
32. Web site: Champions League group stage number crunching. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2015.
33. Web site: Group stage draw: which teams are in which pots?. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2015.
34. Web site: Draws — Round of 16 . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 14 December 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151216172430/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2016/draws/round%3D2000635/index.html . 16 December 2015 .
35. Web site: Round of 16 draw: Arsenal v Barça, Juve v Bayern . UEFA.com . 14 December 2015.
36. Web site: Draws — Quarter-finals . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 18 March 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160318234142/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2016/draws/round%3D2000636/index.html . 18 March 2016 .
37. Web site: Quarter-final draw: Barcelona-Atlético, Paris-City. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 March 2016.
38. Web site: Draws — Semi-finals . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 15 April 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160510145703/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2016/draws/round%3D2000637/index.html . 10 May 2016 .
39. Web site: Champions League semi-finals: City-Madrid, Bayern-Atlético. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 April 2016.
40. Web site: 2016 final: Milan. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
41. Web site: UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season. UEFA.com. 30 May 2016.