2015–16 UEFA Youth League

2015–16 UEFA Youth League
Tournament details
Dates 15 September 2015 – 18 April 2016
Teams 64 (from 37 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 152
Goals scored 497 (3.27 per match)
Top scorer(s) Spain Roberto Núñez (9 goals)

The 2015–16 UEFA Youth League is 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 are the defending champions.

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:[2][3]

Teams

A total of 64 teams from 37 UEFA member associations entered the tournament. They were split into two sections:[4][5]

Rank Association Teams
UEFA Champions League Path Domestic Champions Path
1 Spain Spain Barcelona
Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid
Sevilla
Valencia
Villarreal
2 England England Chelsea
Manchester City
Arsenal
Manchester United
Middlesbrough
3 Germany Germany Bayern Munich
Wolfsburg
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Bayer Leverkusen
Schalke 04
4 Italy Italy Juventus
Roma
Torino
5 Portugal Portugal Benfica
Porto[†]
6 France France Paris Saint-Germain
Lyon
Stade de Reims
7 Russia Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
CSKA Moscow
Spartak Moscow
8 Netherlands Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Ajax
9 Ukraine Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
Shakhtar Donetsk[†]
10 Belgium Belgium Gent Anderlecht
11 Turkey Turkey Galatasaray Beşiktaş
12 Greece Greece Olympiacos[†]
13 Switzerland Switzerland Servette
14 Austria Austria Red Bull Salzburg
15 Czech Republic Czech Republic Příbram
16 Romania Romania Viitorul Constanța
17 Israel Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv[†]
18 Cyprus Cyprus APOEL
19 Denmark Denmark Midtjylland
20 Croatia Croatia Dinamo Zagreb[†]
21 Poland Poland Legia Warsaw
22 Belarus Belarus BATE Borisov Minsk
23 Scotland Scotland Celtic
24 Sweden Sweden Malmö Elfsborg
25 Bulgaria Bulgaria Litex Lovech
26 Norway Norway Brann
27 Serbia Serbia Rad
28 Hungary Hungary Puskás Akadémia
29 Slovenia Slovenia Domžale
30 Slovakia Slovakia Senica
31 Moldova Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
32 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Ravan Baku
33 Georgia (country) Georgia Saburtalo Tbilisi
34 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Astana Aktobe
35 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar
36 Finland Finland HJK
37 Iceland Iceland Stjarnan
Notes
  1. 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 is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[4][8]

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 Play-offs 14 December 2015 9–10 February 2016
Round of 16 15 February 2016 22–23 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

UEFA Champions League Path

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.[9][10]

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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSG RMA MFF SHA
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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSV CSK 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[lower-alpha 1] Advance to play-offs 0–0 4–0 1–2
3 England Manchester United 6 2 2 2 6 10 4 8[lower-alpha 1] 0–5 0–0 1–1
4 Germany Wolfsburg 6 2 1 3 10 11 1 7 4–1 2–4 0–2
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Ranked by head-to-head record (CSKA Moscow: 4 pts; Manchester United: 1 pt).

Group C

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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MCI SEV JUV MGL
1 England Manchester City 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 11[lower-alpha 1] Advance to round of 16 1–1 4–1 1–1
2 Spain Sevilla 6 3 2 1 9 7 +2 11[lower-alpha 1] 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. 1 2 Ranked by head-to-head record (Manchester City: 4 pts; Sevilla: 1 pt).

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR ROM LEV BAT
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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DIN ARS OLY BAY
1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10[lower-alpha 1] Advance to round of 16 0–2 2–2 0–1
2 England Arsenal 6 3 1 2 9 7 +2 10[lower-alpha 1] Advance to play-offs 1–2 3–2 2–0
3 Greece Olympiacos 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10[lower-alpha 1] 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. 1 2 3 Ranked by head-to-head record (Dinamo Zagreb: 7 pts; Arsenal: 6 pts; Olympiacos: 4 pts).

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CHE DYK 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

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[lower-alpha 1] Advance to round of 16 1–0 6–0 4–0
2 Spain Valencia 6 4 1 1 13 3 +10 13[lower-alpha 1] 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. 1 2 Ranked by head-to-head record (Lyon: 4 pts; Valencia: 1 pt).

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.[11][12] There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into four groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.[13]

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).[4]

First round

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 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Villarreal Spain 4–4 (a) Switzerland Servette 2–3 2–1
APOEL Cyprus 4–9 Hungary Puskás Akadémia 3–3 1–6
Senica Slovakia 1–2 Italy Torino 0–0 1–2
Rad Serbia 1–1 (3–2 p) Slovenia Domžale 0–1 1–0
Stade de Reims France 5–6 England Middlesbrough 5–3 0–3
Elfsborg Sweden 2–1 Iceland Stjarnan 2–0 0–1
Brann Norway 1–6 Belgium Anderlecht 1–1 0–5
HJK Finland 1–6 Scotland Celtic 0–5 1–1
Schalke 04 Germany 2–5 Netherlands Ajax 2–3 0–2
Příbram Czech Republic 4–1 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău 2–0 2–1
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 5–2 Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar 4–0 1–2
Midtjylland Denmark 5–2[A] Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi 3–1 2–1
Aktobe Kazakhstan 0–6 Turkey Beşiktaş 0–2 0–4
Spartak Moscow Russia 4–0 Azerbaijan Ravan Baku 4–0 0–0
Minsk Belarus 3–7 Romania Viitorul Constanța 2–2 1–5
Litex Lovech Bulgaria 2–5 Poland Legia Warsaw 1–2 1–3
Notes
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second round

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 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Puskás Akadémia Hungary 1–3 Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3
Rad Serbia 0–1 Sweden Elfsborg 0–1 0–0
Servette Switzerland 3–4 Belgium Anderlecht 1–2 2–2
Middlesbrough England 6–3 Italy Torino 3–0 3–3
Spartak Moscow Russia 1–5 Netherlands Ajax 0–3 1–2
Beşiktaş Turkey 2–5 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 1–0 1–5
Midtjylland Denmark 5–1 Poland Legia Warsaw 2–0 3–1
Příbram Czech Republic 2–0 Romania Viitorul Constanța 2–0 0–0

Play-offs

For the play-offs, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties played over one match. The draw was held on 14 December 2015.[14][15] 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 advance to the round of 16, where they are joined by the eight group winners from the UEFA Champions League Path.

If the scores are level after full-time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[4]

The play-off matches will be played on 9 and 10 February 2016.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Ajax Netherlands 3–1 Spain Sevilla
Příbram Czech Republic 2–2 (5–4 p) Russia CSKA Moscow
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 0–4 Italy Roma
Anderlecht Belgium 2–0 England Arsenal
Celtic Scotland 1–1 (3–4 p) Spain Valencia
Elfsborg Sweden 1–3 Spain Real Madrid
Middlesbrough England 5–0 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
Midtjylland Denmark 4–4 (5–4 p) Spain Atlético Madrid

Knockout phase

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

If the scores are level after full-time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[4]

UEFA Champions League Path group winners
Play-offs round winners

Round of 16

The round of 16 matches will be played on 22 and 23 February 2016.

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals will be played on 8 and 9 March 2016.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals will be played on 15 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[17]

Final

The final will be played on 18 April 2016 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[17]

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Team Goals Minutes played
1 Spain Roberto Núñez Spain Atlético Madrid 9 444
2 Portugal Diogo Gonçalves Portugal Benfica 7 226
England Tammy Abraham England Chelsea 7 450
Portugal José Gomes Portugal Benfica 7 215
5 Spain Rafael Mir Spain Valencia 6 360
6 Spain Carles Aleñá Spain Barcelona 5 446
Germany Leandro Putaro Germany Wolfsburg 5 343
Spain Borja Mayoral Spain Real Madrid 5
Belgium Jorn Vanсamp Belgium Anderlecht 5
Nigeria Sadiq Umar Italy AS Roma 5

Source: UEFA.com[18]

Top assists

Rank Player Team Assists Minutes played
1 England Harrison Chapman England Middlesbrough 8 450
2 France Théo Chendri Spain Barcelona 4 372
3 Portugal João Carvalho Portugal Benfica 3 337
Argentina Ezequiel Ponce Italy Roma 3 346
England Patrick Roberts England Manchester City 3 381
Sweden Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist Netherlands PSV 3 450
Georgia (country) Giorgi Arabidze Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3 270

Source: UEFA.com[19]

References

External links

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