2008–09 UEFA Champions League

2008–09 UEFA Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	16 September 2008 – 27 May 2009
Teams	32
Tournament statistics
Matches played	112
Goals scored	292 (2.61 per match)
Attendance	4,232,864 (37,793 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Steven Gerrard Miroslav Klose (7 goals)
All statistics correct as of 00:06, 11 March 2009 (UTC).

The UEFA Champions League 2008–09 is the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009. It is the eighth time the European Cup final has been held in Italy and the fourth time it has been held at the Stadio Olimpico. Manchester United are the defending champions.

Qualification

A total of 76 teams from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition) will participate in the 2008-09 Champions League. Countries are allocated places according to the 2007 UEFA league co-efficient ranking. The title holder entry is not used since Manchester United qualified for the group stage as the Premier League (Association 2) champions.

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 Champions League:

• Associations 1-3 (Spain, England and Italy) each have four teams qualify
• Associations 4-6 (France, Germany, and Portugal) each have three teams qualify
• Associations 7-15 (Romania, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Greece) each have two teams qualify
• Associations 16-53 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify

First qualifying round: (28 teams)

• 28 champions from associations 25-53

Second qualifying round: (28 teams)

• 14 winners from the first qualifying round
• 8 champions from associations 17-24 (Switzerland, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Denmark, Austria, Poland and Hungary)
• 6 runners-up from associations 10-15

Third qualifying round: (32 teams)

• 14 winners from the second qualifying round
• 6 champions from associations 11-16
• 3 runners-up from associations 7-9 (the Netherlands enter the winners of a series of play-off games rather than the runners-up automatically qualifying)
• 6 third-place finishers from associations 1-6
• 3 fourth-place finishers from associations 1-3

Group stage: (32 teams)

• 16 winners from the third qualifying round
• 10 champions from associations 1-10
• 6 runners-up from associations 1-6

Group stage
Real Madrid	Internazionale	Bayern Munich	CFR Cluj
Villarreal	Roma	Werder Bremen	PSV Eindhoven
Manchester UnitedTH	Lyon	Porto	Zenit St. Petersburg
Chelsea	Bordeaux	Sporting CP	Celtic[A]
Third qualifying round
Barcelona	Fiorentina	Twente	Slavia Prague
Atlético Madrid	Marseille	Spartak Moscow	Galatasaray
Arsenal	Schalke 04	Shakhtar Donetsk	Olympiacos
Liverpool	Vitória Guimarães	Standard Liège	Levski Sofia[A]
Juventus	Steaua
Second qualifying round
Rangers	Fenerbahçe	Beitar Jerusalem	Rapid Wien
Dynamo Kyiv	Panathinaikos	Partizan	Wisła Kraków[A]
Anderlecht	Basel	Aalborg BK	MTK Budapest[A]
Sparta Prague	Brann
First qualifying round
Artmedia Petržalka	Kaunas	BATE	Llanelli
Dinamo Zagreb	Tampere United	Dinamo Tirana	NSÍ Runavík
Anorthosis	Sheriff Tiraspol	Levadia	F91 Dudelange
IFK Göteborg	Drogheda United	Pyunik Yerevan	Valletta
Domžale	Dinamo Tbilisi	Inter Baku	Santa Coloma
Modriča	Rabotnički	Aktobe	Murata
Ventspils	Valur	Linfield	Budućnost Podgorica

^TH Title Holder

Excluded teams

Porto

On 4 June 2008, a decision was taken to exclude Portuguese champions Porto from this year's competition, after the club was found guilty of bribing referees in the Portuguese Liga during the 2003-04 season. As a result, Vitória Guimarães were promoted from the 3rd qualifying round to the group stage and Benfica from the UEFA Cup into the 3rd qualifying round. However, after Porto appealed the decision, the decision was referred by UEFA's Appeals Body back to the Control & Disciplinary Body for re-assessment. The meeting to re-assess the situation took place on 16 June 2008, with the decision being reversed and Porto being allowed back into the 2008-09 Champions League. The decision was taken due to Porto's disciplinary process in Portugal not yet being complete.

CSKA Sofia

Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia were excluded from the tournament having failed to secure a UEFA licence due to the club being in debt to various government bodies and creditors. Levski Sofia took their place in the 3rd qualifying round.

Round and draw dates

The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.

Date Event 1 July 2008 Draw for first and second qualifying rounds 15 & 16 July 2008 First qualifying round, first leg 22 & 23 July 2008 First qualifying round, second leg 29 & 30 July 2008 Second qualifying round, first leg 1 August 2008 Draw for third qualifying round 5 & 6 August 2008 Second qualifying round, second leg 12 & 13 August 2008 Third qualifying round, first leg 26 & 27 August 2008 Third qualifying round, second leg 28 August 2008 Draw for group stage 16 & 17 September 2008 Group stage, Matchday 1 30 September & 1 October 2008 Group stage, Matchday 2 21 & 22 October 2008 Group stage, Matchday 3

Date Event 4 & 5 November 2008 Group stage, Matchday 4 25 & 26 November 2008 Group stage, Matchday 5 9 & 10 December 2008 Group stage, Matchday 6 19 December 2008 Draw for first knockout round 24 & 25 February 2009 First knockout round, first leg 10 & 11 March 2009 First knockout round, second leg 20 March 2009 Draw for remaining rounds 7 & 8 April 2009 Quarter-finals, first leg 14 & 15 April 2009 Quarter-finals, second leg 28 & 29 April 2009 Semi-finals, first leg 5 & 6 May 2009 Semi-finals, second leg 27 May 2009 Final in Rome, Italy

Qualifying rounds

First qualifying round

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Tuesday, 1 July 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were held on 15 July and 16 July, while the second legs were played on 22 July and 23 July 2008.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Linfield	1–3	Dinamo Zagreb	0–2	1–1
Valletta	0–3	Artmedia Petržalka	0–2	0–1
Dinamo Tbilisi	3–1	NSÍ Runavík	3–0	0–1
Santa Coloma	2–7	Kaunas	1–4	1–3
Murata	0–9	IFK Göteborg	0–5	0–4
Llanelli	1–4	Ventspils	1–0	0–4
Anorthosis	3–0	Pyunik Yerevan	1–0	2–0
Inter Baku	(a) 1–1	Rabotnički	0–0	1–1
Tampere United	3–2	Budućnost	2–1	1–1
F91 Dudelange	0–3	Domžale	0–1	0–2
Dinamo Tirana	1–4	Modriča	0–2	1–2
Aktobe	1–4	Sheriff Tiraspol	1–0	0–4
Drogheda United	3–1	Levadia	2–1	1–0
BATE	3–0	Valur	2–0	1–0

In the draw for the first qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The lower pot contained the 14 teams from associations 40-53: none of these teams had a team ranking.

Two of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Inter Baku (Azerbaijan, country rank 42) beat Rabotnički (Macedonia, 36); and BATE (Belarus, 40) beat Valur (Iceland, 37).

Of the 28 teams in the first qualifying round, two would survive as far as the group stage: Anorthosis and BATE. Each then finished in fourth place.

Second qualifying round

The first leg matches were played on 29 July and 30 July, while the second legs were played on 5 August and 6 August 2008.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Rangers	1–2	Kaunas	0–0	1–2
Brann	(a) 2–2	Ventspils	1–0	1–2
Inter Baku	1–3	Partizan	1–1	0–2
Tampere United	3–7	Artmedia Petržalka	1–3	2–4
Anorthosis	4–3	Rapid Wien	3–0	1–3
Domžale	2–6	Dinamo Zagreb	0–3	2–3
Panathinaikos	3–0	Dinamo Tbilisi	3–0	0–0
IFK Göteborg	3–5	Basel	1–1	2–4
Sheriff Tiraspol	0–3	Sparta Prague	0–1	0–2
Drogheda United	3–4	Dynamo Kyiv	1–2[B]	2–2
Anderlecht	3–4	BATE	1–2	2–2
Beitar Jerusalem	2–6	Wisła Kraków	2–1	0–5
Fenerbahçe	7–0	MTK Hungária	2–0	5–0
Aalborg BK	7–1	Modriča	5–0	2–1

In the draw for the second qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 166 or higher: so each tie contained exactly one team ranked in the top 166.

Three of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Kaunas (unranked, coefficient 2.640) beat Rangers (ranked 24, coefficient 66.013); BATE (unranked, 1.760) beat Anderlecht (56, 41.810); and Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Rapid Wien (ranked 166).

Of the 28 teams in the second qualifying round, Panathinaikos would be the only one to remain in the competition after the group stage.

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round took place on 1 August 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were played on 12 August and 13 August, while the second leg matches took place on 26 August and 27 August. The losing team of each match are being seeded into the UEFA Cup 2008-09 first round; while the winning teams advance into the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 group stage.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Anorthosis	3–1	Olympiacos	3–0	0–1
Vitória Guimarães	1–2	Basel	0–0	1–2
Shakhtar Donetsk	5–1	Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	3–1
Schalke 04	1–4	Atlético Madrid	1–0	0–4
Aalborg BK	4–0	Kaunas	2–0	2–0
Barcelona	4–1	Wisła Kraków	4–0	0–1
Levski Sofia	1–2	BATE	0–1	1–1
Standard Liège	0–1	Liverpool	0–0	0–1 (aet)
Partizan	3–4	Fenerbahçe	2–2	1–2
Twente	0–6	Arsenal	0–2	0–4
Spartak Moscow	2–8	Dynamo Kyiv	1–4	1–4
Juventus	5–1	Artmedia Petržalka	4–0	1–1
Brann	1–3	Marseille	0–1	1–2
Fiorentina	2–0	Slavia Prague	2–0	0–0
Galatasaray	2–3	Steaua	2–2	0–1
Sparta Prague	1–3[C]	Panathinaikos	1–2	0–1

In the draw for the third qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 61 or higher. However, the draw was held before the second qualifying round was played, which meant that Kaunas and BATE effectively moved into the higher pot, replacing the teams they eliminated.

Four of the 16 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Olympiacos (ranked 44); BATE (unranked, coefficient 1.760) beat Levski Sofia (ranked 80, coefficient 32.644); Atlético Madrid (ranked 67) beat Schalke 04 (ranked 22) and Dynamo Kyiv (ranked 74) beat Spartak Moscow (ranked 61).

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Champions League 2008–09 group stage

The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August 2008 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, prior to the 2008 UEFA Super Cup the following day.

Tie-breaking criteria

Based on paragraph 6.05 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:

1. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
2. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
3. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
4. superior goal difference from all group matches played;
5. higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

Key to colours in group tables
Teams that progressed to the first knockout round are indicated in bold type
Teams that progressed to the UEFA Cup are indicated in bold italics
Teams eliminated from European competitions for the season are indicated in plain italics

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Roma 6 4 0 2 12 6 +6 12 Chelsea 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 11 Bordeaux 6 2 1 3 5 11 −6 7 CFR Cluj 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4

BDX CLU CHL ROM Bordeaux – 1–0 1–1 1–3 CFR Cluj 1–2 – 0–0 1–3 Chelsea 4–0 2–1 – 1–0 Roma 2–0 1–2 3–1 –

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Panathinaikos 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 Internazionale 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 Werder Bremen 6 1 4 1 7 9 −2 7 Anorthosis 6 1 3 2 8 8 0 6

ANO INT PAN BRM Anorthosis – 3–3 3–1 2–2 Internazionale 1–0 – 0–1 1–1 Panathinaikos 1–0 0–2 – 2–2 Werder Bremen 0–0 2–1 0–3 –

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Barcelona 6 4 1 1 18 8 +10 13 Sporting CP 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 12 Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 Basel 6 0 1 5 2 16 −14 1

BAR BSL SHK SCP Barcelona – 1–1 2–3 3–1 Basel 0–5 – 1–2 0–1 Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2 5–0 – 0–1 Sporting CP 2–5 2–0 1–0 –

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Liverpool 6 4 2 0 11 5 +6 14 Atlético Madrid 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12 Marseille 6 1 1 4 5 7 −2 4 PSV Eindhoven 6 1 0 5 5 14 −9 3

ATL LIV MAR PSV Atlético Madrid – 1–1 2–1 2–1 Liverpool 1–1 – 1–0 3–1 Marseille 0–0 1–2 – 3–0 PSV Eindhoven 0–3 1–3 2–0 –

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Manchester United 6 2 4 0 9 3 +6 10 Villarreal 6 2 3 1 9 7 +2 9 Aalborg BK 6 1 3 2 9 14 −5 6 Celtic 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5

AAB CEL MU VIL Aalborg BK – 2–1 0–3 2–2 Celtic 0–0 – 1–1 2–0 Manchester United 2–2 3–0 – 0–0 Villarreal 6–3 1–0 0–0 –

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Bayern Munich 6 4 2 0 12 4 +8 14 Lyon 6 3 2 1 14 10 +4 11 Fiorentina 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Steaua 6 0 1 5 3 12 −9 1

BAY FIO LYO STE Bayern Munich – 3–0 1–1 3–0 Fiorentina 1–1 – 1–2 0–0 Lyon 2–3 2–2 – 2–0 Steaua 0–1 0–1 3–5 –

Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Porto 6 4 0 2 9 8 +1 12 Arsenal 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11 Dynamo Kyiv 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8 Fenerbahçe 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2

ARS DYN FEN POR Arsenal – 1–0 0–0 4–0 Dynamo Kyiv 1–1 – 1–0 1–2 Fenerbahçe 2–5 0–0 – 1–2 Porto 2–0 0–1 3–1 –

Group H

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Juventus 6 3 3 0 7 3 +4 12 Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 Zenit St. Petersburg 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 BATE 6 0 3 3 3 8 −5 3

BAT JUV RM ZNT BATE – 2–2 0–1 0–2 Juventus 0–0 – 2–1 1–0 Real Madrid 2–0 0–2 – 3–0 Zenit St. Petersburg 1–1 0–0 1–2 –

Knockout stage

Main article: UEFA Champions League 2008–09 knockout stage

From the first knockout round through to the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home and away basis with the same rules as the qualifying rounds applied. In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation. For the draw of the quarter-finals and semi-finals clubs are seeded based on the results in the group and first knockout stage of the current season (eight matches).

First knockout round

The draw for the first knockout round was held on 19 December 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first legs of the first knockout round were played on 24 and 25 February 2009, and the second legs were played on 10 and 11 March.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Chelsea	3–2	Juventus	1–0	2–2
Villarreal	3–2	Panathinaikos	1–1	2–1
Sporting CP	1–12	Bayern Munich	0–5	1–7
Atlético Madrid	2–2 (a)	Porto	2–2	0–0
Lyon	3–6	Barcelona	1–1	2–5
Real Madrid	0–5	Liverpool	0–1	0–4
Arsenal	1–1 (7–6 p)	Roma	1–0	0–1 (aet)
Internazionale	0–2	Manchester United	0–0	0–2

Quarter-finals and semi-finals

The draw for the final rounds of the competition will take place on 20 March 2009. There will be no seeding and no country protection, meaning that it is an entirely random draw. The quarter-final first legs will be played on 7/8 April and the second legs on 14/15 April. The semi-final first legs will be played on 28/29 April and the second legs on 5/6 May.

Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds) are as follows:

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Time played	Minutes per goal
1	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	7	484'51"	69'16"
	Miroslav Klose	Bayern Munich	7	683'04"	97'35"
3	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	6	503'26"	83'54"
	Lisandro López	Porto	6	752'09"	125'22"
5	Alessandro Del Piero	Juventus	5	687'25"	137'29"
	Karim Benzema	Lyon	5	731'13"	146'15"
7	Joseba Llorente	Villarreal	4	366'03"	91'31"
	Dimitar Berbatov	Manchester United	4	388'57"	97'14"
	Jádson	Shakhtar Donetsk	4	405'48"	101'27"
	Danny Koevermans	PSV Eindhoven	4	429'16"	107'19"
	Thierry Henry	Barcelona	4	480'31"	120'08"
	Evangelos Mantzios	Panathinaikos	4	542'46"	135'42"
	Alberto Gilardino	Fiorentina	4	543'52"	135'58"

Bold indicates a player whose club is still active in the competition.

• Source: Top Scorers - First Knock-out Round 2nd leg - Wednesday 11 March 2009 - (after matches) (accessed 11 March 2009)

See also

• UEFA Cup 2008–09
• UEFA Intertoto Cup 2008

Footnotes

A. ^ Moved up from the lower qualifying round due to the Title Holder entry not being used.

B. ^ Match was played in Dublin.

C. ^ Order of legs reversed