2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round

The 2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 28 June and ended on 24 August 2016. A total of 56 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 10 of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.[1]

All times are CEST (UTC+2).

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).[1][2][3][4]

Round Draw date and time First leg Second leg
First qualifying round 20 June 2016, 12:00[5][6] 28–29 June 2016 5–6 July 2016
Second qualifying round 12–13 July 2016 19–20 July 2016
Third qualifying round 15 July 2016, 12:00[7][8] 26–27 July 2016 2–3 August 2016
Play-off round 5 August 2016, 12:00[9][10] 16–17 August 2016 23–24 August 2016

Format[edit]

In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule would be applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two 15-minute halves. The away goals rule would be again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out.[1]

In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association are not drawn against each other, and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]

Teams[edit]

There were two routes which the teams were separated into during qualifying:

  • Champions Route, which included all domestic champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage.
  • League Route (also called the Non-champions Path or the Best-placed Path), which included all domestic non-champions which did not qualify directly for the group stage.

A total of 56 teams (41 in Champions Route, 15 in League Route) were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round. The 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route) advanced to the group stage to join the 22 teams which enter in the group stage. The 15 losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round, and the 10 losers of the play-off round enter the Europa League group stage.[1]

Below are the participating teams (with their 2016 UEFA club coefficients),[11][12] grouped by their starting rounds.[13][14]

Key to colours
Winners of the play-off round advance to the group stage
Losers of the play-off round enter the Europa League group stage
Losers of the third qualifying round enter the Europa League play-off round

Champions Route[edit]

Third qualifying round
Team Coeff
Greece Olympiacos 70.940
Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 44.585
Romania Astra Giurgiu 11.076
Second qualifying round
Team Coeff
Champions Route
Austria Red Bull Salzburg 42.520
Scotland Celtic 40.460
Cyprus APOEL 35.935
Belarus BATE Borisov 34.000
Poland Legia Warsaw 28.000
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 25.775
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 25.625
Denmark Copenhagen 24.720
Azerbaijan Qarabağ 13.475
Norway Rosenborg 12.850
Kazakhstan Astana 12.575
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 10.575
Serbia Red Star Belgrade 7.175
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 5.875
Iceland FH 5.750
Slovakia Trenčín 5.400
Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 5.050
Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius 4.925
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 4.725
Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana 4.625
North Macedonia Vardar 4.200
Sweden IFK Norrköping 3.975
Hungary Ferencváros 3.475
Northern Ireland Crusaders 3.400
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 3.175
Republic of Ireland Dundalk 2.590
Montenegro Mladost Podgorica 2.475
Finland SJK 1.730
Albania Partizani[1] 1.575
Latvia Liepāja 1.075
First qualifying round
Team Coeff
Champions Route
Wales The New Saints 5.200
Malta Valletta 4.466
Estonia Flora Tallinn 3.350
Andorra FC Santa Coloma 2.699
Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 1.975
Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 1.700
Armenia Alashkert 1.325
San Marino Tre Penne 1.316
Notes
  1. [1] Skënderbeu (Coeff: 7.825) were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for match-fixing.[15][16] They appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and UEFA agreed to suspend the exclusion and Skënderbeu Korçë were included in the second qualifying round draw.[17] The final decision to exclude Skënderbeu was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 6 July 2016, before the second qualifying round was played.[18][19] As a result, the berth was given to the runners-up Partizani.[20]

League Route[edit]

Play-off round
Team Coeff
England Manchester City 99.256
Portugal Porto 92.616
Spain Villarreal 60.142
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 42.035
Italy Roma 41.587
Third qualifying round
Team Coeff
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 81.976
Netherlands Ajax 58.112
Belgium Anderlecht 54.000
Turkey Fenerbahçe 40.920
Czech Republic Sparta Prague 40.585
Greece PAOK 37.440
Romania Steaua București 36.576
France Monaco 36.549
Switzerland Young Boys 24.755
Russia Rostov 11.716

First qualifying round[edit]

Seeding[edit]

A total of eight teams played in the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 20 June 2016.[5][21]

Seeded Unseeded

Wales The New Saints
Malta Valletta
Estonia Flora Tallinn
Andorra FC Santa Coloma

Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn
Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps
Armenia Alashkert
San Marino Tre Penne

Summary[edit]

The first legs were played on 28 June, and the second legs were played on 5 and 6 July 2016.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Flora Tallinn Estonia 2–3 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 2–1 0–2
The New Saints Wales 5–1 San Marino Tre Penne 2–1 3–0
Valletta Malta 2–2 (a) Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 1–0 1–2
FC Santa Coloma Andorra 0–3 Armenia Alashkert 0–0 0–3

Matches[edit]

Flora Tallinn Estonia2–1Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps
Report J. Chipolina 57'
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar2–0Estonia Flora Tallinn
Report

Lincoln Red Imps won 3–2 on aggregate.


The New Saints Wales2–1San Marino Tre Penne
Report Fraternali 16'
Tre Penne San Marino0–3Wales The New Saints
Report

The New Saints won 5–1 on aggregate.


Valletta Malta1–0Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn
Falcone 69' Report
B36 Tórshavn Faroe Islands2–1Malta Valletta
Report Falcone 24'

2–2 on aggregate; Valletta won on away goals.


FC Santa Coloma Andorra0–0Armenia Alashkert
Report
Alashkert Armenia3–0Andorra FC Santa Coloma
Report

Alashkert won 3–0 on aggregate.

Second qualifying round[edit]

Seeding[edit]

A total of 34 teams played in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which entered in this round, and the four winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 20 June 2016.[5][21]

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded

Austria Red Bull Salzburg
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
Azerbaijan Qarabağ
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
Slovakia Trenčín

Luxembourg F91 Dudelange
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana
North Macedonia Vardar
Latvia Liepāja

Cyprus APOEL
Poland Legia Warsaw
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
Kazakhstan Astana
Albania Skënderbeu[††]
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi

Wales The New Saints[†]
Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius
Hungary Ferencváros
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar
Armenia Alashkert[†]
Montenegro Mladost Podgorica

Scotland Celtic
Belarus BATE Borisov
Denmark Copenhagen
Norway Rosenborg
Serbia Red Star Belgrade
Iceland FH

Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps[†]
Sweden IFK Norrköping
Northern Ireland Crusaders
Malta Valletta[†]
Republic of Ireland Dundalk
Finland SJK

Notes
  1. Winners of the first qualifying round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the first qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the second qualifying round.
  2. †† Skënderbeu would have qualified for the Champions League second qualifying round as the champions of the 2015–16 Albanian Superliga, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for match-fixing. They were included in the second qualifying round awaiting an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and participated in the draw. On 6 July 2016, after their appeal was denied, they were replaced in the Second qualifying round by Partizani.[20]

Summary[edit]

The first legs were played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs were played on 19 and 20 July 2016.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Qarabağ Azerbaijan 3–1 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 2–0 1–1
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel 3–2 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 3–2 0–0
Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia 6–6 (a) Slovakia Trenčín 3–4 3–2
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 3–0 Latvia Liepāja 1–0 2–0
Vardar North Macedonia 3–5 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1–2 2–3
The New Saints Wales 0–3 Cyprus APOEL 0–0 0–3
Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–3 Poland Legia Warsaw 1–1 0–2
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 5–0 Montenegro Mladost Podgorica 2–0 3–0
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country) 3–1 Armenia Alashkert 2–0 1–1
Žalgiris Vilnius Lithuania 1–2 Kazakhstan Astana 0–0 1–2
Partizani Albania 2–2 (3–1 p) Hungary Ferencváros 1–1 1–1 (a.e.t.)
BATE Borisov Belarus 4–2 Finland SJK 2–0 2–2
Valletta Malta 2–4 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 1–2 1–2
Rosenborg Norway 5–4 Sweden IFK Norrköping 3–1 2–3
Dundalk Republic of Ireland 3–3 (a) Iceland FH 1–1 2–2
Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar 1–3 Scotland Celtic 1–0 0–3
Crusaders Northern Ireland 0–9 Denmark Copenhagen 0–3 0–6

Matches[edit]

Qarabağ Azerbaijan2–0Luxembourg F91 Dudelange
Almeida 10' (pen.), 27' Report
F91 Dudelange Luxembourg1–1Azerbaijan Qarabağ
N'Diaye 71' Report Reynaldo 90+4'

Qarabağ won 3–1 on aggregate.


Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel3–2Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
Report
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova0–0Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Report

Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 3–2 on aggregate.


Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia3–4Slovakia Trenčín
Report
Trenčín Slovakia2–3Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana
Report

6–6 on aggregate; Trenčín won on away goals.


Red Bull Salzburg Austria1–0Latvia Liepāja
Soriano 83' Report
Liepāja Latvia0–2Austria Red Bull Salzburg
Report

Red Bull Salzburg won 3–0 on aggregate.


Vardar North Macedonia1–2Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
Hambardzumyan 54' Report
Attendance: 17,000[25]
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia3–2North Macedonia Vardar
Report Velkovski 39', 63'
Attendance: 10,142[25]

Dinamo Zagreb won 5–3 on aggregate.


The New Saints Wales0–0Cyprus APOEL
Report
Attendance: 1,056[25]
APOEL Cyprus3–0Wales The New Saints
Report

APOEL won 3–0 on aggregate.


Zrinjski Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina1–1Poland Legia Warsaw
Katanec 57' Report Nikolić 49'
Legia Warsaw Poland2–0Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar
Nikolić 28' (pen.), 62' Report

Legia Warsaw won 3–1 on aggregate.


Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria2–0Montenegro Mladost Podgorica
Report
Mladost Podgorica Montenegro0–3Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
Report

Ludogorets Razgrad won 5–0 on aggregate.


Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country)2–0Armenia Alashkert
Report
Alashkert Armenia1–1Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
Gyozalyan 51' Report Jighauri 21'

Dinamo Tbilisi won 3–1 on aggregate.


Žalgiris Vilnius Lithuania0–0Kazakhstan Astana
Report
Attendance: 4,100[25]
Astana Kazakhstan2–1Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius
Aničić 31', 90+2' Report Elivelto 57'
Attendance: 18,449[25]

Astana won 2–1 on aggregate.


Partizani Albania1–1Hungary Ferencváros
Fili 47' Report Böde 71'
Ferencváros Hungary1–1 (a.e.t.)Albania Partizani
Gera 14' (pen.) Report Hüsing 40' (o.g.)
Penalties
1–3
Attendance: 8,752[25]

2–2 on aggregate; Partizani won on penalties.


BATE Borisov Belarus2–0Finland SJK
Report
Attendance: 9,247[25]
SJK Finland2–2Belarus BATE Borisov
Report

BATE Borisov won 4–2 on aggregate.


Valletta Malta1–2Serbia Red Star Belgrade
Falcone 15' Report
Red Star Belgrade Serbia2–1Malta Valletta
Report Caruana 11'
Attendance: 31,112[25]
Referee: Tore Hansen (Norway)

Red Star Belgrade won 4–2 on aggregate.


Rosenborg Norway3–1Sweden IFK Norrköping
Report Andersson 70'
Attendance: 11,595[25]
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
IFK Norrköping Sweden3–2Norway Rosenborg
Report
Attendance: 10,372[25]

Rosenborg won 5–4 on aggregate.


Dundalk Republic of Ireland1–1Iceland FH
McMillan 66' Report Lennon 77'
Attendance: 3,111[25]
FH Iceland2–2Republic of Ireland Dundalk
Report McMillan 52', 62'
Attendance: 1,850[25]
Referee: Paolo Valeri (Italy)

3–3 on aggregate; Dundalk won on away goals.


Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar1–0Scotland Celtic
L. Casciaro 48' Report
Celtic Scotland3–0Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps
Report
Attendance: 55,632[25]

Celtic won 3–1 on aggregate.


Crusaders Northern Ireland0–3Denmark Copenhagen
Report
Attendance: 2,069[25]
Copenhagen Denmark6–0Northern Ireland Crusaders
Report

Copenhagen won 9–0 on aggregate.

Third qualifying round[edit]

Seeding[edit]

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

A total of 30 teams played in the third qualifying round:[7]

  • Champions Route: three teams which enter in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.
  • League Route: ten teams which enter in this round.

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2016.[7][26]

Champions Route League Route
Group 1 Group 2
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded

Greece Olympiacos
Scotland Celtic[†]
Cyprus APOEL[†]
Poland Legia Warsaw[†]
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb[†]

Norway Rosenborg[†]
Kazakhstan Astana[†]
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva[†]
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi[†]
Slovakia Trenčín[†]

Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň
Austria Red Bull Salzburg[†]
Belarus BATE Borisov[†]
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad[†]
Denmark Copenhagen[†]

Azerbaijan Qarabağ[†]
Romania Astra Giurgiu
Serbia Red Star Belgrade[†]
Republic of Ireland Dundalk[†]
Albania Partizani[†]

Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk[††]
Netherlands Ajax
Belgium Anderlecht
Turkey Fenerbahçe
Czech Republic Sparta Prague

Greece PAOK
Romania Steaua București
France Monaco
Switzerland Young Boys
Russia Rostov[††]

Notes
  1. Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the second qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the third qualifying round.
  2. †† 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.[27][8]

Summary[edit]

The first legs were played on 26 and 27 July, and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 August 2016.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Route
Rosenborg Norway 2–4 Cyprus APOEL 2–1 0–3
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia 3–0 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 2–0 1–0
Olympiacos Greece 0–1 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–0 0–1
Astana Kazakhstan 2–3 Scotland Celtic 1–1 1–2
Trenčín Slovakia 0–1 Poland Legia Warsaw 0–1 0–0
Viktoria Plzeň Czech Republic 1–1 (a) Azerbaijan Qarabağ 0–0 1–1
Astra Giurgiu Romania 1–4 Denmark Copenhagen 1–1 0–3
BATE Borisov Belarus 1–3 Republic of Ireland Dundalk 1–0 0–3
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 6–4 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 2–2 4–2 (a.e.t.)
Partizani Albania 0–3 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 0–1 0–2
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
League Route
Ajax Netherlands 3–2 Greece PAOK 1–1 2–1
Sparta Prague Czech Republic 1–3 Romania Steaua București 1–1 0–2
Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine 2–2 (2–4 p) Switzerland Young Boys 2–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Rostov Russia 4–2 Belgium Anderlecht 2–2 2–0
Fenerbahçe Turkey 3–4 France Monaco 2–1 1–3

Matches[edit]

Rosenborg Norway2–1Cyprus APOEL
Report Efrem 67'
APOEL Cyprus3–0Norway Rosenborg
Report
Attendance: 15,559[28]

APOEL won 4–2 on aggregate.


Dinamo Zagreb Croatia2–0Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
Report
Attendance: 10,258[28]
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country)0–1Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
Report Rog 8'

Dinamo Zagreb won 3–0 on aggregate.


Olympiacos Greece0–0Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Report
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel1–0Greece Olympiacos
Tzedek 79' Report

Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 1–0 on aggregate.


Astana Kazakhstan1–1Scotland Celtic
Logvinenko 19' Report Griffiths 78'
Attendance: 29,000[28]
Celtic Scotland2–1Kazakhstan Astana
Report Ibraimi 62'
Attendance: 52,952[28]

Celtic won 3–2 on aggregate.


Trenčín Slovakia0–1Poland Legia Warsaw
Report Nikolić 69'
Legia Warsaw Poland0–0Slovakia Trenčín
Report

Legia Warsaw won 1–0 on aggregate.


Viktoria Plzeň Czech Republic0–0Azerbaijan Qarabağ
Report
Qarabağ Azerbaijan1–1Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň
Muarem 28' Report Krmenčík 85'

1–1 on aggregate; Viktoria Plzeň won on away goals.


Astra Giurgiu Romania1–1Denmark Copenhagen
Teixeira 7' Report Delaney 64'
Copenhagen Denmark3–0Romania Astra Giurgiu
Report
Attendance: 16,853[28]
Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)

Copenhagen won 4–1 on aggregate.


BATE Borisov Belarus1–0Republic of Ireland Dundalk
Gordeichuk 70' Report
Attendance: 11,321[28]
Dundalk Republic of Ireland3–0Belarus BATE Borisov
Report

Dundalk won 3–1 on aggregate.


Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria2–2Serbia Red Star Belgrade
Report
Red Star Belgrade Serbia2–4 (a.e.t.)Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
Report
Attendance: 50,223[28]
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)

Ludogorets Razgrad won 6–4 on aggregate.


Partizani Albania0–1Austria Red Bull Salzburg
Report Soriano 70' (pen.)
Red Bull Salzburg Austria2–0Albania Partizani
Report

Red Bull Salzburg won 3–0 on aggregate.


Ajax Netherlands1–1Greece PAOK
Dolberg 58' Report Djalma 27'
PAOK Greece1–2Netherlands Ajax
Athanasiadis 4' Report Klaassen 45+1' (pen.), 88'

Ajax won 3–2 on aggregate.


Sparta Prague Czech Republic1–1Romania Steaua București
Šural 35' Report Stanciu 75'
Attendance: 13,257[28]
Steaua București Romania2–0Czech Republic Sparta Prague
Stanciu 31', 63' Report

Steaua București won 3–1 on aggregate.


Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine2–0Switzerland Young Boys
Report
Young Boys Switzerland2–0 (a.e.t.)Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
Kubo 54', 60' Report
Penalties
4–2
Attendance: 9,365[28]
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

2–2 on aggregate; Young Boys won on penalties.


Rostov Russia2–2Belgium Anderlecht
Report
Attendance: 14,770[28]
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)
Anderlecht Belgium0–2Russia Rostov
Report

Rostov won 4–2 on aggregate.


Fenerbahçe Turkey2–1France Monaco
Emenike 39', 61' Report Falcao 42'
Monaco France3–1Turkey Fenerbahçe