2015–16 UEFA Youth League

UEFA Youth League 2015–16 2017-2018 Amical Oyonnax vs Stade Français - 33.jpg 275 The Colovray Stadium in Nyon hosted the semi-finals and final. 15 September 2015 – 18 April 2016 64 37 ENG Chelsea 2 FRA 1974 Paris Saint-Germain 167 538 ESP Roberto Núñez (Atlético Madrid)9 goals 2014–15 2016–17 The 2015–16 UEFA Youth League was the third season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. After a two-year trial period, the UEFA Youth League became a permanent UEFA competition starting from this season, with the tournament expanded from 32 to 64 teams.http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/executive-committee/news/newsid=2149865.html UEFA Youth League retained and expanded UEFA.org 18 September 2014 Chelsea retained their title after defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2–1 in the final.https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/match/2019575--paris-vs-chelsea/ Chelsea defeat Paris to retain Youth League title 18 April 2016 18 April 2016 UEFA Format changes The UEFA Executive Committee held on 18 September 2014 approved the following changes to the UEFA Youth League starting from the 2015–16 season:http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/executive-committee/news/newsid=2149868.html Milan to host 2016 UEFA Champions League final UEFA.org 18 September 2014https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d041ac9a933-67001402c85e-1000--uefa-youth-league-retained-and-expanded/ UEFA Youth League retained and expanded UEFA 18 September 2014 The tournament is expanded from 32 to 64 teams. The 64 teams include the youth teams of the 32 clubs which participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage, which have been included since the first edition, as well as the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their UEFA country coefficients, which are included starting from this edition. Associations without a youth domestic champion as well as domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path are replaced by the next association in the UEFA ranking. The new format of the competition sees the two groups of teams compete in separate paths until the play-offs: In the UEFA Champions League path, the 32 Champions League youth teams retain the group stage format and schedule which correspond to the Champions League group stage. The group winners advance to the round of 16, and the group runners-up advance to the play-offs. In the Domestic Champions path, the 32 youth domestic champions play two rounds of two-legged ties, with the eight winners advancing to the play-offs. In the play-offs, the youth domestic champions play a single match at home against the UEFA Champions League path group runners-up. In the round of 16, the UEFA Champions League path group winners play a single match against the winners of the play-offs (home team determined by draw). In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final, teams play each other over a single match (quarter-finals home team determined by draw, semi-finals and final played at neutral venues). The under-19 age limit is retained, but clubs are able to include a maximum of three under-20 players in their overall list of 40 players for the competition, in order to alleviate the burden on players having school duties. Teams A total of 64 teams from 37 of the 54 UEFA member associations entered the tournament. They were split into two sections:http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/24/06/34/2240634_DOWNLOAD.pdf Regulations of the UEFA Youth League 2015/16 UEFA 1 May 2015https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d0441442d1f-dfe952cd2dac-1000--uefa-youth-league-entrants-confirmed/ UEFA Youth League entrants confirmed UEFA 27 August 2015 live https://web.archive.org/web/20150722065326/http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/24/06/34/2240634_DOWNLOAD.pdf 22 July 2015 The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path. The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2014 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path. Associations without a youth domestic champion as well as domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path were replaced by the next association in the UEFA ranking.http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/season=2014/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130612002949/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/season=2014/index.html dead June 12, 2013 Country coefficients 2013/14 UEFAhttps://kassiesa.net/uefa/data/method4/crank2014.html UEFA Country Ranking 2014 Bert Kassies RankAssociationTeamsUEFA Champions League PathDomestic Champions Path1ESPBarcelona Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Sevilla ValenciaVillarreal2ENGChelseaTH Manchester City Arsenal Manchester UnitedMiddlesbrough3GERBayern Munich VfL Wolfsburg Borussia Mönchengladbach Bayer LeverkusenSchalke 044ITAJuventus RomaTorino5PORBenfica Porto†6FRAParis Saint-Germain LyonReims7RUSZenit Saint Petersburg CSKA MoscowSpartak Moscow8NEDPSV EindhovenAjax9UKRDynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk†10BELGentAnderlecht11TURGalatasarayBeşiktaş12GREOlympiacos†13SUIServette14AUTFC Salzburg15CZEPříbram16ROUViitorul Constanța17ISRMaccabi Tel Aviv†18CYPAPOEL19DENMidtjylland20CRODinamo Zagreb†21POLLegia Warsaw22BLRBATE BorisovMinsk23SCOCeltichttp://www.celticfc.net/news/8309 Celtic Under-17s book European place with title triumph Celtic FC 20 May 2015 30 May 201724SWEMalmö FFIF Elfsborg25BULLitex Lovech26NORBrann27SRBRad28HUNPuskás Akadémia29SVNDomžale30SVKSenica31MDAZimbru Chișinău32AZERavan Baku33GEOSaburtalo Tbilisi34KAZAstanaAktobe35BIHŽeljezničar36FINHJK37ISLStjarnanAssociations which did not enter a team38LVA39MNE40ALB41LTU42MKD Macedonia43IRL44LUX45MLT46LIE47NIR48WAL49ARM50EST51FRO52SMR53AND54GIB Notes disc TH 0 TH Title holders † 0 † Teams which were also youth domestic champions. Squads Players must be born on or after 1 January 1997, with a maximum of three players per team born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1996 allowed. Round and draw dates The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d0440111272-b70de2e3636f-1000--uefa-youth-league-how-the-new-system-will-work/ UEFA Youth League: How the new system will work UEFA 24 July 2015 PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legUEFA Champions League PathGroup stageMatchday 127 August 2015(Monaco)15–16 September 2015Matchday 229–30 September 2015Matchday 320–21 October 2015Matchday 43–4 November 2015Matchday 524–25 November 2015Matchday 68–9 December 2015Domestic Champions PathFirst round1 September 201529–30 September 201520–21 October 2015Second round3–4 November 201524–25 November 2015Knockout phaseKnockout round play-offs14 December 20159–10 February 2016Round of 1615 February 201623–24 February 2016Quarter-finals8–9 March 2016Semi-finals15 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, NyonFinal18 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon Notes For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams played their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the same day as the corresponding senior teams in the UEFA Champions League; however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays. For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches were played on Wednesdays; however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the play-offs, round of 16 and quarter-finals, in principle matches were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; however, matches could also be played on other dates, provided they were completed before the following dates: Play-offs: 12 February 2016 Round of 16: 26 February 2016 Quarter-finals: 18 March 2016 UEFA Champions League Path 2015–16 UEFA Youth League group stage For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held in Monaco on 27 August 2015.http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000700/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150827023731/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000700/index.html dead August 27, 2015 Draws — Group stage UEFA 27 August 2015https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d04414567a3-ef8ef7087928-1000--uefa-youth-league-groups-set/ UEFA Youth League groups set UEFA 27 August 2015 In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The eight group winners advanced to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advanced to the play-offs, where they were joined by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path. The matchdays were 15–16 September, 29–30 September, 20–21 October, 3–4 November, 24–25 November, and 8–9 December 2015. TiebreakersThe 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 14.03): 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); drawing of lots. Group A Group A yes no_hide_class_rules Group B Group B yes no_hide_class_rules Group C Group C yes no_hide_class_rules Group D Group D yes no_hide_class_rules Group E Group E yes no_hide_class_rules Group F Group F yes no_hide_class_rules Group G Group G yes no_hide_class_rules Group H Group H yes no_hide_class_rules Domestic Champions Path 2015–16 UEFA Youth League Domestic Champions Path For the Domestic Champions Path, the 32 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw was held on 1 September 2015.http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000701/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150825231234/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000701/index.html dead August 25, 2015 Draws — Domestic champions path UEFA 1 September 2015https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d04485a8ccf-72b10a65c9b8-1000--youth-league-domestic-champions-path-draw/ Youth League: Domestic Champions path draw UEFA 1 September 2015 There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into four groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d044a3ee993-d1c6a4d4006f-1000--uefa-youth-league-domestic-path-draw-details/ UEFA Youth League domestic path draw details UEFA 1 September 2015 In the first round, teams in the same group were drawn against each other. In the second round, the winners from Group 1 were drawn against the winners from Group 2, and the winners from Group 3 were drawn against the winners from Group 4, with the order of legs decided by draw. The eight second round winners advanced to the play-offs, where they were joined by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path. If the aggregate scores were level after full-time of the second leg, the away goals rule was used to decide the winner. If still tied, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played). First round First round Second round Second round Knockout phase 2015–16 UEFA Youth League knockout phase For the knockout phase, the teams were drawn into a single-elimination tournament, with all ties played over one match. The knockout round play-off draw was held on 14 December 2015,http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000703/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150825231534/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000703/index.html dead August 25, 2015 Draws — Play-off UEFA 14 December 2015https://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d0452bae593-b168df866b96-1000--uefa-youth-league-play-off-draw/ UEFA Youth League play-off draw UEFA 14 December 2015 while the draw for the round of 16 onwards was held on 15 February 2016.http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000704/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150827024452/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/draws/round=2000704/index.html dead August 27, 2015 Draws — Knockout phase UEFAhttps://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/news/0253-0d04575e1801-61a9ac9c1946-1000--uefa-youth-league-knockout-stage-draw/ UEFA Youth League knockout stage draw UEFA 15 February 2016 The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows: In the draw for the knockout round play-offs, the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path were drawn against the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path, with the teams from the Domestic Champions Path hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path were drawn against the eight play-off winners. Teams from the same UEFA Champions League Path group could not be drawn against each other, but teams from the same association could be drawn against each other. The draw also decided the home team for each round of 16 match. In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same UEFA Champions League Path group or the same association could be drawn against each other. The draws also decided the home team for each quarter-final, and the "home" team for administrative purposes for each semi-final and final (which were played at a neutral venue). If the scores were level after full-time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played). Bracket Bracket Knockout round play-offs Play-offs Round of 16 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals Semi-finals Semi-finals Final Final Statistics Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played1ESP Roberto NúñezESP Atlético Madrid96242ESP Borja MayoralESP Real Madrid8614ENG Tammy AbrahamENG Chelsea8104POR José GomesPOR Benfica7328POR Diogo GonçalvesPOR Benfica4966ESP Rafael MirESP Valencia6617BEL Jorn VancampBEL Anderlecht633ESP Carles AleñáESP Barcelona7169GER Leandro PutaroGER VfL Wolfsburg5410JAM Kasey PalmerENG Chelsea545FRA Jean-Kévin AugustinFRA Paris Saint-Germain641NGA Umar SadiqITA Roma769 Source: UEFAhttp://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/statistics/round=2000700/players/kind=goals/index.html#order=3desc https://archive.today/20160813194342/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/statistics/round=2000700/players/kind=goals/index.html%23order=3desc dead August 13, 2016 Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Goals UEFA 18 April 2016 Top assists RankPlayerTeamAssistsMinutes played1ENG Harrison ChapmanENG Middlesbrough85402NED Sam LammersNED PSV Eindhoven4512ESP Fran Villalbahttps://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/clubs/players/250079394--fran-villalba/ 2015/16 UEFA Youth League – Fran Villalba UEFAESP Valencia546FRA Théo ChendriESP Barcelona570NGA Umar SadiqITA Roma769FRA Christopher NkunkuFRA Paris Saint-Germain788 Source: UEFAhttp://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/statistics/round=2000700/players/kind=goals/index.html#order=4desc https://web.archive.org/web/20160109121222/http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2016/statistics/round=2000700/players/kind=goals/index.html#order=4desc dead January 9, 2016 Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Assists UEFA 18 April 2016 References External links 2015–16 UEFA Youth League 2015–16 Youth League League