2019 Copa Libertadores group stage explained

The 2019 Copa Libertadores group stage was played from 5 March to 9 May 2019.^[1] A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the final stages of the 2019 Copa Libertadores.^[2]

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 17 December 2018, 20:30 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores as of 15 December 2018 (shown in parentheses), taking into account the following three factors:^{[6] [7] [8]}

1. Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 2009–2018
2. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 1960–2008
3. Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years

For the group stage, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups (Groups A–H) of four containing a team from each of the four pots. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group, excluding the four winners of the third stage, which were allocated to Pot 4 and whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and could be drawn into the same group with another team from the same association.

Notes

The following were the four winners of the third stage of qualifying which joined the 28 direct entrants in the group stage.

Match	Third stage winners
G1	Atlético Mineiro (10)
G2	Melgar (80)
G3	Libertad (23)
G4	Palestino (84)

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The teams were ranked according to the following criteria: 1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss); 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Away goals scored; 5. CONMEBOL ranking (Regulations Article 28).^[2]

The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the final stages. The third-placed teams of each group entered the Copa Sudamericana second stage.

Schedule

The schedule of each matchday was as follows.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Matchday	Dates	Matches
Matchday 1	5–7 March 2019	Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 1
Matchday 2	12–14 March 2019	Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 1 vs. Team 4
Matchday 3	2–4 April 2019	Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 4	9–11 April 2019	Team 2 vs. Team 4, Team 1 vs. Team 3
Matchday 5	23–25 April 2019	Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 6	7–9 May 2019	Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4

Notes

Groups

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

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Group E

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Group F

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Group G

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Group H

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External links

• CONMEBOL Libertadores 2019, CONMEBOL.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: CALENDÁRIO 2019 CONMEBOL Libertadores – CONMEBOL Sudamericana – RECOPA. CONMEBOL.com.
2. Web site: Reglamento CONMEBOL Libertadores 2019. CONMEBOL.com. 2019-04-20. 2019-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20190420170654/http://www.conmebol.com/sites/default/files/reglamento-conmebol-libertadores-2019-esp.pdf. dead.
3. Web site: El 17 de diciembre se sortean la CONMEBOL Libertadores y la CONMEBOL Sudamericana. CONMEBOL.com. Spanish. 10 December 2018.
4. Web site: Proceso de acreditación a medios de prensa para el sorteo de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y CONMEBOL Sudamericana. CONMEBOL.com. Spanish. 12 December 2018.
5. Web site: Develada la cruzada hacia la Gloria Eterna. CONMEBOL.com. 17 December 2018.
6. Web site: Ranking CONMEBOL Libertadores 2019. CONMEBOL.com.
7. Web site: Pautas de sorteo de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2019. CONMEBOL.com. 17 December 2018.
8. Web site: CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2019 Pauta del Sorteo. CONMEBOL.com.
9. Web site: Fixture de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2019. CONMEBOL.com. 18 December 2018.
10. Web site: PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS. CONMEBOL.com. 18 December 2018.
11. Web site: PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS - FASE DE GRUPOS. CONMEBOL.com. 1 March 2019.