2017 CAF Champions League knockout stage explained

The 2017 CAF Champions League knockout stage was played from 8 September to 4 November 2017.[1] A total of eight teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2017 CAF Champions League.[2]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals.

Groupwidth=200Winnerswidth=200Runners-up
A Étoile du Sahel Ferroviário Beira
B USM Alger Al Ahli Tripoli
C Espérance de Tunis Mamelodi Sundowns
D Wydad AC Al Ahly

Format

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 26 & 27).[2]

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.[1] [3] [4]

RoundFirst legSecond leg
Quarter-finals15–17 September 201722–24 September 2017
Semi-finals29 September – 1 October 201720–22 October 2017
Final27–29 October 20173–5 November 2017

The calendar was amended from the original one for the following dates:[4]

  • Quarter-finals first leg: moved from 8–10 September to 15–17 September
  • Quarter-finals second leg: moved from 15–17 September to 22–24 September
  • Semi-finals second leg: moved from 13–15 October to 20–22 October

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:[2]

RoundMatchups
Quarter-finals(Group winners host second leg)
  • QF1: Runner-up Group B vs. Winner Group A
  • QF2: Runner-up Group D vs. Winner Group C
  • QF3: Runner-up Group A vs. Winner Group B
  • QF4: Runner-up Group C vs. Winner Group D
Semi-finals(Order of legs decided by draw)
  • SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
  • SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4
Final(Order of legs decided by draw)
  • Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2

The order of legs for the semi-finals and final was decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw on 26 April 2017, 14:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[5] [6]

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group, with the group winners hosting the second leg.[2]

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Étoile du Sahel won 2–0 on aggregate.----Al-Ahly won 4–3 on aggregate.----1–1 on aggregate. USM Alger won on away goals.----1–1 on aggregate. Wydad AC won 3–2 on penalties.

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.[7]

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Al-Ahly won 7–4 on aggregate.----Wydad AC won 3–1 on aggregate.

Final

See main article: article and 2017 CAF Champions League Final.

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.[8] Wydad Casablanca won 2–1 on aggregate.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CAF Flash Magazine: Final 2016 Orange Confederation Cup. CAF.
  2. Web site: CAF Champions League regulations. CAF.
  3. Web site: Total Champions League 2017: fixtures of the group matches. CAF.
  4. Web site: Calendar for Interclubs knockout stages amended. CAF. 25 July 2017.
  5. Web site: Draw procedure for CL group phase. CAF. 26 April 2017.
  6. Web site: DRAW Ceremony : Total CAF Champions League 2017 & Total CAF Confederation Cup 2017 - English. YouTube. 26 April 2017.
  7. Web site: DRAW Ceremony : Total CAF Champions League 2017 & Total CAF Confederation Cup 2017 - English. YouTube. 26 April 2017.
  8. Web site: DRAW Ceremony : Total CAF Champions League 2017 & Total CAF Confederation Cup 2017 - English. YouTube. 26 April 2017.