The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 15 September and ended on 9 December 2015. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.[1]
Draw
editThe draw was held on 27 August 2015, 17:45 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[2][3] 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):[4][5]
- Pot 1 contained the title holders and the champions of the top seven associations based on their 2014 UEFA country coefficients.[6][7] As the title holders (Barcelona) were one of the champions of the top seven associations, the champions of the association ranked eighth were also seeded into Pot 1 (regulations Article 13.05).[1]
- Pots 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2015 UEFA club coefficients.[8][9][10]
Moreover, the draw was controlled for teams from the same association in order to split the teams evenly into the two sets of groups (A–D, E–H) for maximum television coverage.
The fixtures were decided after the draw. On each matchday, four groups played their matches on Tuesday, while the other four groups played their matches on Wednesday, with the two sets of groups (A–D, E–H) alternating between each matchday. There were other restrictions: for example, teams from the same city (e.g., Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United) in general did not play at home on the same matchday (UEFA tried to avoid teams from the same city playing at home on the same day or on consecutive days, due to logistics and crowd control), and teams in certain countries (e.g., Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan) did not play at home on the last matchday (due to cold weather and simultaneous kick-off times).
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA emergency panel ruled that Ukrainian and Russian clubs would not be drawn against each other "until further notice" due to the political unrest between the countries.[11] Therefore, Ukrainian clubs Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv (both Pot 3), and Russian clubs Zenit Saint Petersburg (Pot 1) and CSKA Moscow (Pot 3) could not be drawn into the same group.
Teams
editBelow are the 32 teams which qualified for the group stage (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients),[8] grouped by their seeding pot.[12][13] They include 22 teams which entered in this stage, and the 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route).
| Key to colours |
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| Group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16 |
| Third-placed teams entered the Europa League round of 32 |
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- Notes
- TH Title holders, automatically placed at the top position of seeding list.
- EL Europa League title holders, qualified automatically
- CR Winners of the play-off round (Champions Route).
- LR Winners of the play-off round (League Route).
Format
editIn 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 Europa League round of 32.[1]
Tiebreakers
editThe teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied in the order given to determine the rankings (regulations Article 17.01):[1]
- higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
- higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- if, after having applied criteria 1 to 4, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 12 applied;
- superior goal difference in all group matches;
- higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
- higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
- higher number of wins in all group matches;
- higher number of away wins in all group matches;
- lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
- higher club coefficient.
Groups
editThe matchdays were 15–16 September, 29–30 September, 20–21 October, 3–4 November, 24–25 November, and 8–9 December 2015.[15] The match kickoff times were 20:45 CEST/CET, except for matchday 5 in Belarus and Russia and matchday 2 in Kazakhstan which were 18:00 CEST/CET, and matchdays 4 and 5 in Kazakhstan which were 16:00 CET.[16]
Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Group A
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RMA | PAR | SHK | MAL | |
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| 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 16 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | 8–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 13 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 3 | Transfer to Europa League | 3–4 | 0–3 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | −20 | 3 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 1–0 | — |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–3 | |
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| Malmö FF | 0–2 | |
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| Malmö FF | 1–0 | |
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| Real Madrid | 1–0 | |
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| Malmö FF | 0–5 | |
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| Paris Saint-Germain | 2–0 | |
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Group B
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WOL | PSV | MUN | CSKA | |
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| 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1–0 | |
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| PSV Eindhoven | 2–1 | |
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| CSKA Moscow | 3–2 | |
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| CSKA Moscow | 1–1 | |
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| Manchester United | 1–0 | |
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| VfL Wolfsburg | 3–2 | |
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| PSV Eindhoven | 2–1 | |
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Group C
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ATM | BEN | GAL | AST | |
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| 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 13 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 10 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 4 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — |
| Galatasaray | 0–2 | |
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| Astana | 2–2 | |
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| Atlético Madrid | 1–2 | |
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| Galatasaray | 2–1 | |
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| Benfica | 2–1 | |
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| Atlético Madrid | 2–0 | |
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| Galatasaray | 1–1 | |
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| Benfica | 1–2 | |
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Group D
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MCI | JUV | SEV | BMG | |
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| 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 11 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | — |
| Sevilla | 3–0 | |
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| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1–2 | |
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| Manchester City | 2–1 | |
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| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1–1 | |
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| Sevilla | 1–3 | |
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| Juventus | 1–0 | |
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Group E
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | ROM | LEV | BATE | |
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| 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 14 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 6 | 1–1 | — | 3–2 | 0–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 6 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–1 | 4–4 | — | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 5 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 4–1 | |
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| Barcelona | 2–1 | |
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| BATE Borisov | 3–2 | |
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| BATE Borisov | 0–2 | |
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| BATE Borisov | 1–1 | |
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| Bayer Leverkusen | 1–1 | |
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| Roma | 0–0 | |
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Group F
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAY | ARS | OLY | DZG | |
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| 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 15 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 5–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 9 | 2–0 | — | 2–3 | 3–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 9 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2–1 | |
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| Bayern Munich | 5–0 | |
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| Arsenal | 2–3 | |
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| Dinamo Zagreb | 0–1 | |
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| Bayern Munich | 5–1 | |
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| Olympiacos | 2–1 | |
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| Bayern Munich | 4–0 | |
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| Dinamo Zagreb | 0–2 | |
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| Olympiacos | 0–3 | |
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Group G
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CHE | DKV | POR | MTA | |
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| 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 13 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 11 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 10 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–2 | |
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| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–2 | |
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| Dynamo Kyiv | 0–0 | |
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| Chelsea | 2–1 | |
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| Porto | 0–2 | |
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| Dynamo Kyiv | 1–0 | |
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Group H
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ZEN | GNT | VAL | LYO | |
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| 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 15 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 6 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–3 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2–1 | |
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| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3–1 | |
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| Lyon | 0–2 | |
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| Gent | 2–1 | |
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Notes
edit- ^ CET (UTC+1) for matches from 2 November 2015, and CEST (UTC+2) for matches to 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Shakhtar Donetsk played their home matches at Arena Lviv, Lviv, instead of their regular stadium, the Donbas Arena in Donetsk, due to the war in Donbas.
- ^ a b c Maccabi Tel Aviv played their home matches at Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, instead of their regular stadium, Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv.[29]
- ^ The Dynamo Kyiv v Maccabi Tel Aviv match was played behind closed doors due to UEFA punishment.[30]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2015/16 Season" (PDF). UEFA. 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Draws — Group stage". UEFA. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League group stage draw". UEFA. 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Champions League: Domestic title winners to receive top-seed status". BBC Sport. 9 October 2014.
- ^ "Champions' bonus for group stage draw". UEFA. 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Country coefficients 2013/14". UEFA. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013.
- ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2014". Bert Kassies.
- ^ a b "Club coefficients 2014/15". UEFA. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
- ^ "UEFA Team Ranking 2015". Bert Kassies.
- ^ "Seeding in the Champions League 2015/2016". Bert Kassies. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ^ "Emergency Panel decisions". UEFA.org. 17 July 2014.
- ^ "2015/16 UEFA Champions League participants". UEFA. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015.
- ^ "Group stage draw: which teams are in which pots?". UEFA. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Next season's UEFA Champions League seeds". UEFA. 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Competition format". UEFA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Full Fixture List" (PDF). UEFA.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 1 – Tuesday 15 September 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 2 – Wednesday 30 September 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 3 – Wednesday 21 October 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 4 – Tuesday 3 November 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 5 – Wednesday 25 November 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 6 – Tuesday 8 December 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 1 – Wednesday 16 September 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 2 – Tuesday 29 September 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 3 – Tuesday 20 October 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 4 – Wednesday 4 November 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 5 – Tuesday 24 November 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Full Time Summary Matchday 6 – Wednesday 9 December 2015" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ "Champions League win earns Maccabi Tel Aviv $20m". globes. 26 August 2015.
- ^ "UEFA orders Dynamo Kyiv to play matches behind closed doors over racist fans". Kyiv Post. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.