How does uefa cup work

There are eight groups of four teams, followed by knockout round play-offs, the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The eight group winners automatically go through to the last Additional knockout round play-offs will then be played before the round of 16 between the eight group runners-up and the third-ranked teams from the UEFA Europa League groups.

The matches of the two competitions are in principle equally split between the two time slots: CET no longer and CET. The new structure for UEFA club competitions ensures that at least 34 UEFA national associations are represented in the group stage of one or more competitions.

As the draws for the quarterfinals and semifinals are held together before the quarterfinals are played, the identity of the quarterfinal winners is not known at the time of the semifinal draw. Two teams are drawn together for each round of the knockout phase, apart from the final. The teams play two matches, with each squad playing one match at home. Each match is known as a "leg. The team that scores more goals over the two legs advances to the next round.

If the aggregate score is level, the away - goals rule is applied. Therefore, the club that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then extra time an additional 30 minutes is played.

The away - goals rule is again applied after extra time. Therefore, if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the winners are decided by a penalty shootout. In a penalty shootout, the team that scores more penalties in a frame of five attempts wins.

If the two teams are still tied after five attempts, they continue to alternate players until one scores their penalty and the other does not. In the final which is played as a single match in a neutral venue , if the score is level at the end of normal time, extra time is played.

If the score is still level after extra time, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout. Watching from the UK? Real Madrid: 13 titles , , , , , , , , , , , , Bayern Munich: 5 titles , , , , These will be joined in by the Europa Conference League as the third tier of European club football. This is not to be confused with a domestic pyramid structure. There is no promotion or relegation between these leagues. Participation is based on the team's performances the previous season.

Qualification for these competitions is primarily decided by domestic league positions, although domestic cup competitions also usually offer a route into Europe. All this, however, depends on a country's UEFA coefficient. This is a ranking based on the performances of clubs from each league in European competition over a set period. The higher ranked a league is, the more European qualification berths they're allotted. Some of these berths earn teams the right to go straight into the competition itself, beginning in the group stage.

Others still have to go through qualifying — consisting of up to five rounds — to reach that stage. So qualification for Europe sometimes means qualifying for the chance to qualify for Europe. For the Champions League, the base ruling is that the holders and previous Europa League winners are joined by the champions of the top 10 ranked nations, the six runners-up from the top six, and the third and fourth-placed teams from the top four.

Should the holders of the two European competitions already qualify via their league position, that opens up the opportunity for an extra club from another league to gain automatic entry. The four champions from associations ranked contest the preliminary round. One progresses to the first round and is joined by the 33 champions from associations except league-less Liechtenstein. Seventeen victors advance to the second round and form what's known as the "Champions Path", joining the champions from associations The runners-up from associations also begin at this stage in the "League Path".

Ten champions and three non-champions progress to the second round. Two more champions from associations join the former, while the latter have their numbers bolstered by the three runners-up from associations and the two third-placed teams from The six champion winners then join the champions from associations in the play-off round, while four non-champions compete amongst themselves for the right to play in the group stage.

With the Bundesliga currently ranked among Europe's top four leagues, German clubs finishing in the top four can avoid an arduous qualification process by entering straight into the group stage.

Winning a domestic cup does not earn you a place in the Champions League, but it is one way of reaching the Europa League — formerly known as the UEFA Cup — which currently begins with 48 teams in its group stage. A similarly long qualification process is also needed there, consisting of a mix of cup winners from lower-ranked nations, teams finishing between second and sixth in their domestic league depending on association ranking and teams knocked out of Champions League qualification.

In Bundesliga terms, though, fifth place goes directly into the group stage alongside the DFB Cup winners, while sixth place has to begin in the second qualifying round. Should the DFB Cup winners finish fifth or better in the Bundesliga, the team in sixth will automatically enter the group stage and seventh place will go through qualifying.

With the introduction of the Europa Conference League in , those rules will change and the third Bundesliga spot in the Europa League will be lost as teams are reduced. Instead, that team will contest the Conference League play-off round of qualifying.

It's a complicated process for those teams playing in lower-ranked leagues, but relatively straightforward for those in the Bundesliga due to the league's high standing on the continent. So, there are leagues, cups, Champions Leagues, Europa Leagues, Conference Leagues — but what about a super cup, sometimes also written as 'supercup'?

For the latter, it consists of a one-off match on neutral ground between the previous winners of the Champions League and Europa League, being played early the following season.

Domestically, not every country will hold a form of super cup, but it is generally contested between the winners of the league and the cup. In Germany, that sees the winners of the DFB Cup traditionally host the Bundesliga champions in the Supercup the week before the main season begins.

In the event that one team wins both, the Bundesliga runners-up are next in line to compete. Watch: Highlights of the season-opening Supercup between Dortmund and Bayern.

In Italy, the Supercoppa Italiana is now generally held abroad and features the cup runner-up in the event of a domestic double. Spain previously held their Supercopa over two legs. After one year with a one-off match at a neutral venue, they have now introduced a new format featuring four teams contesting one-legged semi-finals and a final featuring the Copa del Rey finalists and the next two highest-ranked league teams. All in all, as is so often the case in Europe, things differ in every country.

The principle remains the same, with domestic silverware and European qualification on the line. Knowing how teams in a specific country achieve that, however, requires a little bit of research.