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2015–16 UEFA Youth League

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2015–16 UEFA Youth League
The Colovray Stadium in Nyon hosted the semi-finals and final.
Tournament details
Dates15 September 2015 – 18 April 2016
Teams64 (from 37 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsEngland Chelsea (2nd title)
Runners-upFrance Paris Saint-Germain
Tournament statistics
Matches played167
Goals scored538 (3.22 per match)
Top scorer(s)Roberto Núñez (Atlético Madrid)
9 goals

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.[1]

Chelsea retained their title after defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2–1 in the final.[2]

Format changes

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The UEFA Executive Committee held on 18 September 2014 approved the following changes to the UEFA Youth League starting from the 2015–16 season:[3][4]

  • 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

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A total of 64 teams from 37 of the 54 UEFA member associations entered the tournament. They were split into two sections:[5][6]

  • 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.[7][8]
Rank Association Teams
UEFA Champions League Path Domestic Champions Path
1  Spain
Villarreal
2  England
Middlesbrough
3  Germany
Schalke 04
4  Italy
Torino
5  Portugal
6  France
Reims
7  Russia
Spartak Moscow
8  Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Ajax
9  Ukraine
10  Belgium Gent Anderlecht
11  Turkey Galatasaray Beşiktaş
12  Greece Olympiacos[†]
13  Switzerland Servette
14  Austria Red Bull Salzburg
15  Czech Republic Příbram
16  Romania Viitorul Constanța
17  Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv[†]
18  Cyprus APOEL
19  Denmark Midtjylland
20  Croatia Dinamo Zagreb[†]
21  Poland Legia Warsaw
22  Belarus BATE Borisov Minsk
23  Scotland Celtic[9]
24  Sweden Malmö FF IF Elfsborg
25  Bulgaria Litex Lovech
26  Norway Brann
27  Serbia Rad
28  Hungary Puskás Akadémia
29  Slovenia Domžale
30  Slovakia Senica
31  Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
32  Azerbaijan Ravan Baku
33  Georgia Saburtalo Tbilisi
34  Kazakhstan Astana Aktobe
35  Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar
36  Finland HJK
37  Iceland Stjarnan
Associations which did not enter a team
38  Latvia
39  Montenegro
40  Albania
41  Lithuania
42  Macedonia
43  Republic of Ireland
44  Luxembourg
45  Malta
46  Liechtenstein
47  Northern Ireland
48  Wales
49  Armenia
50  Estonia
51  Faroe Islands
52  San Marino
53  Andorra
54  Gibraltar
Notes
  1. TH Title holders
  2. † Teams which were also youth domestic champions.

Squads

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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

[edit]

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[5][10]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
UEFA Champions League Path
Group stage 		Matchday 1 27 August 2015
(Monaco) 		15–16 September 2015
Matchday 2 29–30 September 2015
Matchday 3 20–21 October 2015
Matchday 4 3–4 November 2015
Matchday 5 24–25 November 2015
Matchday 6 8–9 December 2015
Domestic Champions Path First round 1 September 2015 29–30 September 2015 20–21 October 2015
Second round 3–4 November 2015 24–25 November 2015
Knockout phase Knockout round play-offs 14 December 2015 9–10 February 2016
Round of 16 15 February 2016 23–24 February 2016
Quarter-finals 8–9 March 2016
Semi-finals 15 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon
Final 18 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon
Notes
  • For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams play their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the same day as the corresponding senior teams in the UEFA Champions League; however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays.
  • For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches are played on Wednesdays; however, matches may also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • For the play-offs, round of 16 and quarter-finals, in principle matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; however, matches may also be played on other dates, provided they are 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

[edit]
Main article: 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.[11][12]

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.

Group A

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAR RMA MAL SHK
1 France Paris Saint-Germain 6 4 1 1 16 6 +10 13 Advance to round of 16 — 4–1 0–0 5–2
2 Spain Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 16 7 +9 12 Advance to play-offs 2–0 — 3–0 4–0
3 Sweden Malmö FF 6 1 2 3 7 14 −7 5 0–3 1–0 — 5–5
4 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 6 1 1 4 13 25 −12 4 1–4 2–6 3–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group B

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSV CSKA MUN WOL
1 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 6 3 1 2 10 9 +1 10 Advance to round of 16 — 2–1 0–3 2–1
2 Russia CSKA Moscow 6 2 2 2 10 6 +4 8[a] Advance to play-offs 0–0 — 4–0 1–2
3 England Manchester United 6 2 2 2 6 10 −4 8[a] 0–5 0–0 — 1–1
4 Germany VfL Wolfsburg 6 2 1 3 10 11 −1 7 4–1 2–4 0–2 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by head-to-head record (CSKA Moscow: 4 pts; Manchester United: 1 pt).

Group C

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BEN ATM GAL AST
1 Portugal Benfica 6 5 1 0 29 3 +26 16 Advance to round of 16 — 1–1 2–0 8–0
2 Spain Atlético Madrid 6 4 1 1 25 5 +20 13 Advance to play-offs 1–2 — 4–0 7–1
3 Turkey Galatasaray 6 2 0 4 8 20 −12 6 1–11 1–3 — 3–0
4 Kazakhstan Astana 6 0 0 6 1 35 −34 0 0–5 0–9 0–3 —
Source: UEFA

Group D

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MCI SEV JUV BMG
1 England Manchester City 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 11[a] Advance to round of 16 — 1–1 4–1 1–1
2 Spain Sevilla 6 3 2 1 9 7 +2 11[a] Advance to play-offs 0–2 — 1–0 4–2
3 Italy Juventus 6 2 0 4 7 11 −4 6 2–1 0–1 — 2–1
4 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 6 1 2 3 10 13 −3 5 1–2 2–2 3–2 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by head-to-head record (Manchester City: 4 pts; Sevilla: 1 pt).

Group E

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR ROM LEV BATE
1 Spain Barcelona 6 3 3 0 10 4 +6 12 Advance to round of 16 — 3–3 1–1 2–0
2 Italy Roma 6 2 3 1 12 6 +6 9 Advance to play-offs 0–0 — 5–1 3–0
3 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 6 2 2 2 6 9 −3 8 0–1 2–1 — 1–0
4 Belarus BATE Borisov 6 0 2 4 1 10 −9 2 0–3 0–0 1–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group F

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DZG ARS OLY BAY
1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10[a] Advance to round of 16 — 0–2 2–2 0–1
2 England Arsenal 6 3 1 2 9 7 +2 10[a] Advance to play-offs 1–2 — 3–2 2–0
3 Greece Olympiacos 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10[a] 1–3 2–0 — 1–0
4 Germany Bayern Munich 6 1 1 4 3 7 −4 4 1–2 1–1 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Ranked by head-to-head record (Dinamo Zagreb: 7 pts; Arsenal: 6 pts; Olympiacos: 4 pts).

Group G

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CHE DKV POR MTA
1 England Chelsea 6 4 2 0 15 4 +11 14 Advance to round of 16 — 3–1 0–0 3–0
2 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 6 3 1 2 7 7 0 10 Advance to play-offs 0–2 — 2–1 2–0
3 Portugal Porto 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 3–3 0–1 — 2–0
4 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 6 0 1 5 2 14 −12 1 0–4 1–1 1–2 —
Source: UEFA

Group H

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LYO VAL ZEN GNT
1 France Lyon 6 4 1 1 16 4 +12 13[a] Advance to round of 16 — 1–0 6–0 4–0
2 Spain Valencia 6 4 1 1 13 3 +10 13[a] Advance to play-offs 1–1 — 2–0 5–1
3 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 6 2 0 4 5 11 −6 6 3–1 0–1 — 0–1
4 Belgium Gent 6 1 0 5 2 18 −16 3 0–3 0–4 0–2 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by head-to-head record (Lyon: 4 pts; Valencia: 1 pt).

Domestic Champions Path

[edit]
Main article: 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.[13][14] There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into four groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.[15]

  • 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).[5]

First round

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The first legs were played on 29 and 30 September, and the second legs were played on 7, 14, 20 and 21 October 2015.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Villarreal Spain4–4 (a)Switzerland Servette2–32–1
APOEL Cyprus4–9Hungary Puskás Akadémia3–31–6
Senica Slovakia1–2Italy Torino0–01–2
Rad Serbia1–1 (3–2 p)Slovenia Domžale0–11–0
Reims France5–6England Middlesbrough5–30–3
IF Elfsborg Sweden2–1Iceland Stjarnan2–00–1
Brann Norway1–6Belgium Anderlecht1–10–5
HJK Finland1–6Scotland Celtic0–51–1
Schalke 04 Germany2–5Netherlands Ajax2–30–2
Příbram Czech Republic4–1Moldova Zimbru Chișinău2–02–1
Red Bull Salzburg Austria5–2Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar4–01–2
Midtjylland Denmark5–2[a]Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi3–12–1
Aktobe Kazakhstan0–6Turkey Beşiktaş0–20–4
Spartak Moscow Russia4–0Azerbaijan Ravan Baku4–00–0
Minsk Belarus3–7Romania Viitorul Constanța2–21–5
Litex Lovech Bulgaria2–5Poland Legia Warsaw1–21–3
Notes:
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second round

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The first legs were played on 4, 5 November and 2 December, and the second legs were played on 24, 25 November and 6 December 2015.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Puskás Akadémia Hungary1–3Scotland Celtic1–00–3
Rad Serbia0–1Sweden IF Elfsborg0–10–0
Servette Switzerland3–4[a]Belgium Anderlecht1–22–2
Middlesbrough England6–3Italy Torino3–03–3
Spartak Moscow Russia1–5Netherlands Ajax0–31–2
Beşiktaş Turkey2–5Austria Red Bull Salzburg1–01–5
Midtjylland Denmark5–1Poland Legia Warsaw2–03–1
Příbram Czech Republic2–0Romania Viitorul Constanța2–00–0
Notes:
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Knockout phase

[edit]
Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Youth League knockout phase

For the knockout phase (round of 16 onwards), the 16 teams were drawn into a single-elimination tournament, with all ties played over one match. The draw was held on 15 February 2016.[16][17] The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

  • 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).[5]

Bracket

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Knockout round play-offs

[edit]

For the knockout round play-offs, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties played over one match. The draw was held on 14 December 2015.[18][19] 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.

The eight play-off winners advanced to the round of 16, where they were joined by the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path. The play-offs were played on 9 and 10 February 2016.

If the scores were level after full-time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played).[5]

Home teamScoreAway team
Ajax Netherlands3–1Spain Sevilla
Příbram Czech Republic2–2 (5–4 p)Russia CSKA Moscow
Red Bull Salzburg Austria0–4Italy Roma
Anderlecht Belgium2–0England Arsenal
Celtic Scotland1–1 (3–4 p)Spain Valencia
IF Elfsborg Sweden1–3Spain Real Madrid
Middlesbrough England5–0Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
Midtjylland Denmark4–4 (5–4 p)Spain Atlético Madrid

Round of 16

[edit]

The round of 16 matches were played on 23 and 24 February 2016.

Home teamScoreAway team
PSV Eindhoven Netherlands2–2 (1–3 p)Italy Roma
Příbram Czech Republic1–1 (3–5 p)Portugal Benfica
Anderlecht Belgium3–0[a]Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
Lyon France0–3Netherlands Ajax
Chelsea England1–1 (5–3 p)Spain Valencia
Real Madrid Spain3–1England Manchester City
Paris Saint-Germain France1–0England Middlesbrough
Barcelona Spain3–1Denmark Midtjylland
Notes:
  1. ^ Match originally finished 0–2 in favour of Dinamo Zagreb, but was awarded by UEFA as 3–0 win for Anderlecht due to Dinamo Zagreb fielding suspended player Matija Fintić.[20]

Quarter-finals

[edit]

The quarter-finals were played on 8, 9 and 15 March 2016.

Home teamScoreAway team
Chelsea England1–0Netherlands Ajax
Paris Saint-Germain France3–1Italy Roma
Anderlecht Belgium2–0Spain Barcelona
Real Madrid Spain2–0Portugal Benfica

Semi-finals

[edit]

The semi-finals were played on 15 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[21]

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Real Madrid Spain1–3France Paris Saint-Germain
Chelsea England3–0Belgium Anderlecht

Final

[edit]

The final was played on 18 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[21]

Paris Saint-Germain France1–2England Chelsea
  • Meïté 58'
 Report
Attendance: 4,000[22]

Statistics

[edit]

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Rank Player Team Goals Minutes played
1 Spain Roberto Núñez Spain Atlético Madrid 9 624
2 Spain Borja Mayoral Spain Real Madrid 8 614
England Tammy Abraham England Chelsea 810
4 Portugal José Gomes Portugal Benfica 7 328
Portugal Diogo Gonçalves Portugal Benfica 496
6 Spain Rafael Mir Spain Valencia 6 617
Belgium Jorn Vancamp Belgium Anderlecht 633
Spain Carles Aleñá Spain Barcelona 716
9 Germany Leandro Putaro Germany VfL Wolfsburg 5 410
England Kasey Palmer England Chelsea 545
France Jean-Kévin Augustin France Paris Saint-Germain 641
Nigeria Umar Sadiq Italy Roma 769

Source: UEFA[23]

Top assists

[edit]
Rank Player Team Assists Minutes played
1 England Harrison Chapman England Middlesbrough 8 540
2 Netherlands Sam Lammers Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 4 512
Spain Fran Villalba[24] Spain Valencia 546
France Théo Chendri Spain Barcelona 570
Nigeria Umar Sadiq Italy Roma 769
France Christopher Nkunku France Paris Saint-Germain 788

Source: UEFA[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "UEFA Youth League retained and expanded". UEFA.org. 18 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Chelsea defeat Paris to retain Youth League title". UEFA. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Milan to host 2016 UEFA Champions League final". UEFA.org. 18 September 2014.
  4. ^ "UEFA Youth League retained and expanded". UEFA. 18 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Regulations of the UEFA Youth League 2015/16" (PDF). UEFA. 1 May 2015.
  6. ^ "UEFA Youth League entrants confirmed". UEFA. 27 August 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Country coefficients 2013/14". UEFA. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013.
  8. ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2014". Bert Kassies.
  9. ^ "Celtic Under-17s book European place with title triumph". Celtic FC. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. ^ "UEFA Youth League: How the new system will work". UEFA. 24 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Draws — Group stage". UEFA. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  12. ^ "UEFA Youth League groups set". UEFA. 27 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Draws — Domestic champions path". UEFA. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Youth League: Domestic Champions path draw". UEFA. 1 September 2015.
  15. ^ "UEFA Youth League domestic path draw details". UEFA. 1 September 2015.
  16. ^ "Draws — Knockout phase". UEFA. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015.
  17. ^ "UEFA Youth League knockout stage draw". UEFA. 15 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Draws — Play-off". UEFA. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  19. ^ "UEFA Youth League play-off draw". UEFA. 14 December 2015.
  20. ^ "UEFA rejects Valencia penalty shootout protest after Chelsea youth game". ESPN FC. 29 February 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Final tournament: Nyon 2016". UEFA. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015.
  22. ^ "PSG VS Chelsea" (JSON). UEFA.
  23. ^ "Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Goals". UEFA. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  24. ^ "2015/16 UEFA Youth League – Fran Villalba". UEFA.
  25. ^ "Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Assists". UEFA. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
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