2017–18 UEFA Youth League explained

Tourney Name:	UEFA Youth League
Year:	2017–18
Size:	275
Num Teams:	64
Associations:	43
Champion Other:	Barcelona
Count:	2
Second Other:	Chelsea
Matches:	167
Goals:	566
Prevseason:	2016–17
Nextseason:	2018–19

The 2017–18 UEFA Youth League was the fifth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

Barcelona won their second Youth League title following a win over Chelsea in the final.^[1]

Red Bull Salzburg were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round of 16. Starting from this season, the UEFA Youth League title holders were given an automatic berth in the Domestic Champions path if there was a vacancy.

Teams

A total of 64 teams from 43 of the 55 UEFA member associations entered the tournament, with Albania, Latvia and Luxembourg entering for the first time.^[2] They were split into two sections:^[3]

• The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path.^[4] If there was a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it was filled by a team defined by UEFA.
• The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path.^{[5] [6]} If there was a vacancy (associations with no youth domestic competition, as well as youth domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path), it was first filled by the title holders should they have not yet qualified, and then by the youth domestic champions of the next association in the UEFA ranking.

Rank	Association	Teams
		UEFA Champions League Path	Domestic Champions Path
1	Spain	Real Madrid ^[7] Barcelona Atlético Madrid Sevilla
2	Germany	Bayern Munich RB Leipzig Borussia Dortmund ^[8]
3	England	Chelsea ^[9] Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City Manchester United Liverpool
4	Italy	Juventus Roma Napoli	Internazionale ^[10]
5	Portugal	Benfica Porto Sporting CP ^[11]
6	France	Monaco Paris Saint-Germain	Bordeaux ^[12]
7	Russia	Spartak Moscow CSKA Moscow	Krasnodar ^[13]
8	Ukraine	Shakhtar Donetsk	Dynamo Kyiv ^[14]
9	Belgium	Anderlecht ^[15]
10	Netherlands	Feyenoord	Ajax ^[16]
11	Turkey	Beşiktaş	Bursaspor ^[17]
12	Switzerland	Basel ^[18]
13	Czech Republic		Sparta Prague ^[19]
14	Greece	Olympiacos ^[20]
15	Romania		Dinamo București ^[21]
16	Austria		Red Bull Salzburg ^[22]
17	Croatia		Lokomotiva Zagreb ^[23]
18	Poland		Legia Warsaw ^[24]
19	Cyprus	APOEL ^[25]
20	Belarus		Shakhtyor Soligorsk ^[26]
21	Sweden		Hammarby ^[27]
22	Norway		Molde ^[28]
23	Israel		Maccabi Haifa ^[29]
24	Denmark		Esbjerg ^[30]
25	Scotland	Celtic ^[31]
26	Azerbaijan	Qarabağ ^[32]
27	Serbia		Brodarac ^[33]
28	Kazakhstan		Kairat ^[34]
29	Bulgaria		Ludogorets Razgrad ^[35]
30	Slovenia	Maribor ^[36]
31	Slovakia		Nitra ^[37]
33	Hungary		Honvéd ^[38]
34	Moldova		Zimbru Chișinău ^[39]
35	Iceland		Breiðablik ^[40]
36	Georgia		Saburtalo Tbilisi ^[41]
37	Finland		KäPa ^[42]
38	Bosnia and Herzegovina		Željezničar ^[43]
39	Albania		Vllaznia Shkodër ^[44]
40	Macedonia		Shkëndija ^[45]
41	Republic of Ireland		UCD ^[46]
42	Latvia		Liepāja ^[47]
43	Luxembourg		F91 Dudelange ^[48]
44	Montenegro		Sutjeska Nikšić ^[49]
Associations which did not enter a team (no teams can qualify for UEFA Champions League group stage, and association either not ranked high enough or no youth domestic competition)
32	Liechtenstein		No youth domestic competition
45	Lithuania
46	Northern Ireland
47	Estonia
48	Armenia
49	Faroe Islands
50	Malta
51	Wales
52	Gibraltar
53	Andorra
54	San Marino
55	Kosovo

Notes

Squads

Players must be born on or after 1 January 1999, with a maximum of three players per team born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 1998 allowed.

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).^[50]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
UEFA Champions League Path Group stage	Matchday 1	24 August 2017 (Monaco)	12–13 September 2017
	Matchday 2		26–27 September 2017
	Matchday 3		17–18 October 2017
	Matchday 4		31 October – 1 November 2017
	Matchday 5		21–22 November 2017
	Matchday 6		5–6 December 2017
Domestic Champions Path	First round	29 August 2017	27 September 2017	18 October 2017
	Second round		1 November 2017	22 November 2017
Knockout phase	Play-offs	11 December 2017	6–7 February 2018
	Round of 16	9 February 2018	20–21 February 2018
	Quarter-finals		13–14 March 2018
	Semi-finals		20 April 2018 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon^[51]
	Final		23 April 2018 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon

Notes

• For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams play their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled for UEFA Champions League, and on the same day as the corresponding senior teams; however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays.
• For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches are played on Wednesdays (first round on matchdays 2 and 3, second round on matchdays 4 and 5, as scheduled for UEFA Champions League); however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• For the play-offs, round of 16 and quarter-finals, in principle matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled; however, matches may also be played on other dates, provided they are completed before the following dates:
  • Play-offs: 8 February 2018
  • Round of 16: 28 February 2018
  • Quarter-finals: 16 March 2018

UEFA Champions League Path

See main article: article and 2017–18 UEFA Youth League group stage.

Group H

Domestic Champions Path

See main article: article and 2017–18 UEFA Youth League Domestic Champions Path.

Second round

Play-offs

See main article: 2017–18 UEFA Youth League play-offs and 2017–18 UEFA Youth League knockout phase.

Knockout phase

See main article: article and 2017–18 UEFA Youth League knockout phase.

Final

Statistics

Notes

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
						Total
1	Ivan Ignatyev	Krasnodar	—	10	0	10
2	Dani Gómez	Real Madrid	7	—	0	7
	Carles Pérez	Barcelona	4	—	3
	Aleksandr Rudenko	Spartak Moscow	6	—	1
5	Jens Odgaard	Internazionale	—	5	1	6
	Andrea Pinamonti	Internazionale	—	6	0
7	Nabil Alioui	Monaco	4	—	1	5
	Curtis Jones	Liverpool	4	—	1
	Orkun Kökçü	Feyenoord	3	—	2
	Rafael Leão	Sporting CP	4	—	1
	Luke McCormick	Chelsea	4	—	1
	Manuel Wintzheimer	Bayern Munich	5	—	0

Top assists

Rank	Player	Team	Assists
1	Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov	Krasnodar	6
	Dominik Szoboszlai	Red Bull Salzburg
3	Moussa Diaby	Paris Saint-Germain	5
	Achraf El Bouchataoui	Feyenoord
	João Filipe	Benfica
	Juan Miranda	Barcelona

External links

• UEFA Youth League (official website)
  • UEFA Youth League history: 2017/18

Notes and References

1. Web site: UEFA Youth League: all you need to know about Nyon 2018. UEFA.com. 23 April 2018.
2. Web site: UEFA Youth League entrants confirmed. UEFA.com. 24 August 2017.
3. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Youth League 2017/18. UEFA.com. 4 April 2017.
4. Web site: Champions League group stage draw pots confirmed. UEFA.com. 24 August 2017.
5. Web site: Country coefficients 2015/16. UEFA.com.
6. Web site: UEFA Country Ranking 2016. Bert Kassies.
7. Web site: The Under 19s have won the Copa de Campeones. Real Madrid. 6 May 2017.
8. Web site: Packendes Finale im Elfmeterkrimi entschieden: Borussia jubelt über ein 8:7. Borussia Dortmund. 22 May 2017.
9. Web site: Under-18s report: Chelsea 3 Reading 0. Chelsea FC. 6 May 2017.
10. Web site: INTER PRIMAVERA ARE CHAMPIONS OF ITALY. Inter.it. 12 June 2017.
11. Web site: Juniores leoninos sagram-se campeões nacionais. Sporting CP. 27 May 2017.
12. Web site: Bordeaux champion national U19. French Football Federation. 4 June 2017.
13. Web site: "Горожане" – обладатели Кубка РФС. FC Krasnodar. 23 November 2016.
14. Web site: "Динамо" U-19: друге поспіль чемпіонство!. 30 April 2017.
15. Web site: OOK U17 VEROVERDEN DE LANDSTITEL!. RSC Anderlecht. 29 April 2017. 1 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071604/http://www.rsca.be/nl/nieuws/ook-u17-veroverden-de-landstitel. 10 December 2017. dead. dmy-all.
16. Web site: Ajax O19 voor vierde keer op rij kampioen. Ajax1.nl. 20 May 2017.
17. Web site: U19 Takımımız Türkiye Şampiyonu!. Bursaspor. 9 May 2017. 11 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210015643/https://www.bursaspor.org.tr/bs//haber?id=22684. 10 December 2017. dead.
18. Web site: Die U18 des FCB ist Schweizer Meister. FC Basel. 18 June 2017. 17 June 2017. 10 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210015753/https://www.fcb.ch/de-CH/News/2017/06/17/U18-Play-Off?ext=.. dead.
19. Web site: Mistrovská devatenáctka porazila Plzeň gólem v poslední minutě. A.C. Sparta Prague. 2 June 2017. 4 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606002405/http://www.sparta.cz/novinky/zpravodajstvi/mladez/mistrovska-devatenactka-porazila-plzen-golem-v-posledni-minute-18392.html. 6 June 2017. dead. dmy-all.
20. Web site: Θέλουμε διάκριση στο UEFA Youth League!. Olympiacos F.C.. 21 May 2017.
21. Web site: Dinamo a câștigat Liga Elitelor U19 și va juca în UEFA Youth League! Puștii lui Hagi au cedat supremația la 11 metri. Libertatea. 3 June 2017.
22. Web site: U18 von FC Red Bull Salzburg verteidigt den Titel in der ÖFB Jugendliga. sportreport.biz. 1 June 2017.
23. Web site: Juniori prvaci Hrvatske osigurali plasman u juniorskoj Ligi Prvaka!. NK Lokomotiva. 6 May 2017.
24. Web site: Legia mistrzem Polski juniorów. 90minut.pl. 28 June 2017.
25. Web site: Πρωτάθλημα Παίδων U-18 Α' Κατηγορίας. Cyprus Football Association. 1 April 2017.
26. Web site: ШАХТЕР-99 — ЧЕМПИОНЫ БЕЛАРУСИ!. FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk. 7 July 2017. 8 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170712091304/http://www.fcshakhter.by/novosti/2983-shakhter-99-chempiony-belarusi.html. 12 July 2017. dead. dmy-all.
27. Web site: SM-guld för U17-laget – 2-1-seger i Borås!. Hammarby IF. 30 October 2016.
28. Web site: NORGESMESTERE!. Molde FK. 19 November 2016. 21 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161122153529/http://www.moldefk.no/news/article/kxr85oypuy941i2a4i96bxc7q/title/norgesmestere. 22 November 2016. dead. dmy-all.
29. Web site: נוער: חיפה זכתה באליפות שניה ברציפות. צפו בחגיגות. SPORT 5. 28 April 2017.
30. Web site: EfB vinder danmarksmesterskabet i U19 Ligaen. Esbjerg fB. 27 May 2017. 27 May 2017. 10 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210021010/http://www.efb.dk/efb-vinder-danmarksmesterskabet-i-u19-ligaen. dead.
31. Web site: European football again for Celtic's Under-17 champions . Celtic FC. 25 May 2017. 17 October 2017.
32. Web site: "Qarabağ" UEFA-nın Gənclər Liqası yarışında mübarizə aparacaq. Azertag. 11 May 2017.
33. Web site: ОМЛАДИНЦИ БРОДАРЦА ПРВАЦИ СРБИЈЕ. Football Association of Serbia. 13 May 2017.
34. Web site: "Кайрат U-18" - Чемпион Казахстана!. FC Kairat. 24 October 2016. 21 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161122071733/http://fckairat.com/publ/akademija/novosti_akademii/kajrat_u_18_chempion_kazakhstana/6-1-0-505. 22 November 2016. dead. dmy-all.
35. Web site: Лудогорец отново в Шампионската лига. sportal.bg. 13 April 2017.
36. Web site: PRVAKI TUDI KADETI!. NK Maribor. 17 May 2017.
37. Web site: Kurucova U19 opäť majstrovská!. FC Nitra. 5 June 2017. 11 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071657/https://fcnitra.com/2017/06/05/kurucova-u19-opat-majstrovska/. 10 December 2017. dead.
38. Web site: BAJNOK AZ U19, IRÁNY AZ UEFA IFJÚSÁGI LIGA!. Budapest Honvéd. 10 June 2017.
39. Web site: Suntem campioni! Zimbru U-19 a câștigat de la Sheriff și a devenit Campioana Moldovei!. Zimbru Chișinău. 24 May 2017.
40. Web site: Breiðablik Íslandsmeistari í 2. flokki karla. fotbolti.net. 21 September 2016.
41. Web site: საბურთალო 19 წლამდელთა ლიგის გამარჯვებულია. Georgian Football Federation. 9 December 2016.
42. Web site: Newsletter 9/2016. KäPa. 14 September 2016. 22 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210072256/https://kapylanpallo.fi/ajankohtaista/2016/09/newsletter-92016. 10 December 2017. dead.
43. Web site: Omladinska Premijer liga: Juniori pobjedom nad Krupom osvojili titulu prvaka BiH. FK Željezničar. 21 May 2017.
44. Web site: Vllaznia U19 kampione e Kategorisë Superiore. FSHF.org. 1 June 2017. 2 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606040045/http://fshf.org/index.php/sq/lajme/5667-vllaznia-u19-kampione-e-kategorise-superiore. 6 June 2017. dead. dmy-all.
45. Web site: MATCH REPORT U19: Shkëndija U 19 kampione e Maqedonisë. KF Shkendija. 20 May 2017.
46. Web site: REPORT: UCD 4-1 Galway United - UCD crowned U19 Champions after dominant final display. SSE Airtricity League. 22 October 2016.
47. Web site: FK Liepāja dramatiskā cīņā nosargā LJČ U-18 vecuma grupas čempionu titulu - Latvijas Futbola federācija. Latvian Football Federation. 26 October 2016.
48. Web site: F91 Diddeleng - Juniors - Champion 2016/17. F91 Diddeleng. 30 May 2017. 11 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171229210643/http://f91.lu/index.php/cache-slidef91/1344-f91-diddeleng-juniors-champion-2016-17. 29 December 2017. dead.
49. Web site: OMLADINCI PRVACI CRNE GORE!!!. FK Sutjeska Nikšić. 21 May 2017.
50. Web site: 2017 European football diary. UEFA.com. 1 January 2017.
51. Web site: Final tournament: Nyon 2018. UEFA.com.