2016–17 UEFA Youth League

The 2016–17 UEFA Youth League was the fourth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

2016–17 UEFA Youth League
The Colovray Stadium in Nyon hosted the semi-finals and final.
Tournament details
Dates13 September 2016 – 24 April 2017
Teams64 (from 40 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsAustria Red Bull Salzburg (1st title)
Runners-upPortugal Benfica
Tournament statistics
Matches played167
Goals scored550 (3.29 per match)
Top scorer(s)Spain Jordi Mboula
Netherlands Kaj Sierhuis
(8 goals each)

Chelsea were the title holders after winning the previous two editions. However, since the UEFA Youth League title holders were not given an automatic qualifying place, and both the Chelsea senior team failed to qualify for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and the Chelsea academy team failed to win the 2015–16 Professional U18 Development League 1, they did not qualify for this tournament to defend their title.[1]

Red Bull Salzburg won their first title after defeating Benfica 2–1 in the final. This was the first occasion that the winner (or a finalist) had come through the Domestic Champions Path of the competition and as of 2022 the only season not to won by a side whom previously have won a European trophy.

Teams

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A total of 64 teams from 40 of the 55 UEFA member associations entered the tournament, with Macedonia, Republic of Ireland and Montenegro entering for the first time.[2] They were split into two sections:[3]

  • The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path.
  • The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2015 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.[4][5]
RankAssociationTeams
UEFA Champions League PathDomestic Champions Path
1 SpainMálaga (2015–16 División de Honor Juvenil U19)[6]
2 England
3 Germany
4 ItalyRoma (2015–16 Campionato Primavera U19)[9]
5 Portugal
6 France
7 RussiaDynamo Moscow (2015 U17 RFS Cup)[12]
8 UkraineDynamo Kyiv[†] (2015–16 Ukrainian U19 League)[13]
9 NetherlandsPSV EindhovenAjax (2015–16 U19 Eredivisie)[14]
10 BelgiumClub BruggeAnderlecht (2015–16 Belgian U17 League)[15]
11 SwitzerlandBaselZürich (2015–16 Swiss U18 League)[16]
12 TurkeyBeşiktaşAltınordu (2016 U19 Süper Kupa)[17]
13 GreecePAOK (2015–16 Superleague K17)[18]
14 Czech RepublicSparta Prague (2015–16 Czech U19 League)[19]
15 RomaniaViitorul Constanța (2015–16 Romanian U19 League)[20]
16 AustriaRed Bull Salzburg (2015–16 U18 Jugendliga)[21]
17 CroatiaDinamo Zagreb[†] (2015–16 1. HNL Juniori U19)[22]
18 CyprusAPOEL (2015–16 Cypriot U17 League)[23]
19 PolandLegia Warsaw[†] (2015–16 Central Junior League U19)[24]
20 IsraelMaccabi Haifa (2015–16 Israeli U19 Premier League)[25]
21 BelarusShakhtyor Soligorsk (2015–16 Belarusian U19 League)[26]
22 DenmarkCopenhagenMidtjylland (2015–16 U19 Ligaen)[27]
23 ScotlandCeltic[†] (2015–16 Scottish U17 League)[28]
24 SwedenAIK (2015 Swedish U17 League)[29]
25 BulgariaLudogorets RazgradLevski Sofia (2016 U18 BFU Cup)[Note BUL]
26 NorwayRosenborg (2015 Norwegian U19 Cup)[30]
27 SerbiaČukarički (2015–16 Serbian U19 League)[31]
28 SloveniaDomžale (2015–16 Slovenian U19 League)[32]
29 AzerbaijanGabala (2015–16 Azerbaijani U19 League)[33]
30 SlovakiaNitra (2015–16 Slovak U19 League)[34]
31 HungaryPuskás Akadémia (2015–16 Hungarian U19 League)[35]
32 KazakhstanKairat (2015 Kazakhstani U18 League)[36]
33 MoldovaSheriff Tiraspol (2015–16 Divizia Națională U18)[37]
34 GeorgiaDinamo Tbilisi (2015–16 Georgian U18 League)[38]
35 FinlandHJK (2015 U17 B-Junior League)[39]
36 IcelandBreiðablik (2015 Icelandic U19 League)[40]
37 Bosnia and HerzegovinaZrinjski Mostar (2015–16 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 Junior League)[41]
39 MacedoniaVardar (2015–16 Macedonian U19 League)[42]
40 Republic of IrelandCork City (2015 League of Ireland U19 Division)[43][44][45]
41 MontenegroMladost Podgorica (2015–16 Montenegrin U19 League)[46]
Associations which did not enter a team
(no teams qualified for UEFA Champions League group stage, and association either not ranked high enough or no youth domestic competition)
38 LiechtensteinNo youth domestic competition
42 Albania
43 Luxembourg
44 Northern Ireland
45 Lithuania
46 Latvia
47 Malta
48 Estonia
49 Faroe Islands
50 Wales
51 Armenia
52 Andorra
53 San Marino
54 Gibraltar
55 Kosovo
Notes
  1. Teams which were also youth domestic champions.
  2. ^
    Bulgaria (BUL): The Bulgarian youth domestic champions Litex Lovech did not meet the entry criteria, and so the berth was given to the runners-up Levski Sofia.[47]


Squads

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Players had to be born on or after 1 January 1998, with a maximum of three players per team born between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1997 are allowed.

Round and draw dates

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The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[3]

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
UEFA Champions League Path
Group stage
Matchday 125 August 2016
(Monaco)
13–14 September 2016
Matchday 227–28 September 2016
Matchday 318–19 October 2016
Matchday 41–2 November 2016
Matchday 522–23 November 2016
Matchday 66–7 December 2016
Domestic Champions PathFirst round30 August 201628 September 201619 October 2016
Second round2 November 201623 November 2016
Knockout phasePlay-offs12 December 20167–8 February 2017
Round of 1610 February 201721–22 February 2017
Quarter-finals7–8 March 2017
Semi-finals21 April 2017 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon
Final24 April 2017 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: 10 February 2017
    • Round of 16: 24 February 2017
    • Quarter-finals: 17 March 2017

UEFA Champions League Path

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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 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 25 August 2016, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[48][49]

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The eight group winners advance to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path. The matchdays are 13–14 September, 27–28 September, 18–19 October, 1–2 November, 22–23 November, and 6–7 December 2016.

Group A

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationPSGBASARSLUD
1 Paris Saint-Germain6420217+1414Advance to round of 164–10–04–1
2 Basel6312119+210Advance to play-offs2–31–11–0
3 Arsenal614186+272–21–23–0
4 Ludogorets Razgrad6015321−1811–80–41–1
Source: UEFA

Group B

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationDKVSLBNAPBES
1 Dynamo Kyiv6510167+916Advance to round of 162–14–13–1
2 Benfica6312106+410Advance to play-offs1–22–00–0
3 Napoli6114613−740–22–32–2
4 Beşiktaş6033612−633–30–30–1
Source: UEFA

Group C

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationBARMCIMGLCEL
1 Barcelona6501135+815Advance to round of 161–01–22–1
2 Manchester City6402137+612Advance to play-offs0–24–13–2
3 Borussia Mönchengladbach62131012−271–31–24–1
4 Celtic6015618−1211–40–41–1
Source: UEFA

Group D

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationPSVATLBAYROS
1 PSV Eindhoven6411162+1413Advance to round of 160–02–06–0
2 Atlético Madrid632185+311Advance to play-offs2–01–31–0
3 Bayern Munich631298+1100–21–14–2
4 Rostov6006321−1800–61–30–1
Source: UEFA

Group E

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationCSMMONBLVTOT
1 CSKA Moscow6411156+913Advance to round of 164–12–13–2
2 Monaco64021014−412Advance to play-offs0–52–12–1
3 Bayer Leverkusen6204910−162–11–23–1
4 Tottenham Hotspur6114812−440–02–32–1
Source: UEFA

Group F

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationRMADORSCPLEG
1 Real Madrid64111510+513Advance to round of 161–31–13–2
2 Borussia Dortmund6222111108Advance to play-offs2–50–13–3
3 Sporting CP613269−361–31–12–2
4 Legia Warsaw61231012−251–20–22–0
Source: UEFA

Group G

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationPORCOPCLULEI
1 Porto6402128+412Advance to round of 164–11–32–1
2 Copenhagen63121210+210Advance to play-offs3–10–03–2
3 Club Brugge631289−1100–20–32–1
4 Leicester City6105914−530–23–22–3
Source: UEFA

Group H

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationSEVJUVOLYDZG
1 Sevilla631298+110Advance to round of 160–22–11–1
2 Juventus630385+39Advance to play-offs2–10–10–1
3 Lyon630367−190–10–32–0
4 Dinamo Zagreb6213710−372–42–11–2
Source: UEFA

Domestic Champions Path

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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 30 August 2016, 13:45 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[50][51] There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into four groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.[52]

The eight second round winners advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path. If the aggregate scores are level after full-time of the second leg, the away goals rule is used to decide the winner. If still tied, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[3]

First round

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The first legs were played on 21, 27, 28, 29 September and 5 October, and the second legs were played on 19 October 2016.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Nitra 2–8 Málaga2–30–5
Puskás Akadémia 1–1 (a) PAOK1–10–0
APOEL 1–9 Roma0–31–6
Domžale 2–5 Čukarički1–11–4
Breiðablik 0–7 Ajax0–30–4
HJK 0–1 Cork City0–00–1
Anderlecht 1–3 Midtjylland0–01–3
Rosenborg 3–1 AIK0–03–1
Viitorul Constanța 5–1 Sheriff Tiraspol4–11–0
Zrinjski Mostar 0–9 Zürich0–30–6
Red Bull Salzburg 8–0 Vardar5–03–0
Sparta Prague 9–0 Mladost Podgorica4–05–0
Gabala 0–7 Dynamo Moscow0–20–5
Maccabi Haifa 8–2 Shakhtyor Soligorsk5–03–2
Dinamo Tbilisi 1–8 Kairat0–31–5
Altınordu 6–1 Levski Sofia5–01–1

Second round

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The first legs were played on 2, 9 and 16 November, and the second legs were played on 22, 23 and 30 November 2016.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
PAOK 1–4 Ajax0–21–2
Cork City 1–4[A] Roma1–30–1
Málaga 2–4 Midtjylland2–00–4
Rosenborg 2–1 Čukarički0–12–0
Altınordu 8–5 Sparta Prague6–22–3
Viitorul Constanța 5–2 Zürich5–00–2
Maccabi Haifa 1–1 (a) Dynamo Moscow0–01–1
Red Bull Salzburg 9–1 Kairat8–11–0
Notes
  1. ^
    Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Play-offs

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For the play-offs, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties played over one match. The draw was held on 12 December 2016, 14:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[53][54] 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).[3] The play-offs were played on 7 and 8 February 2017.

Team 1 Score Team 2
Red Bull Salzburg 1–1 (4–3 p) Manchester City
Midtjylland 1–1 (5–6 p) Benfica
Viitorul Constanța 4–2 Copenhagen
Roma 1–2 Monaco
Rosenborg 1–0 Basel
Altınordu 0–2 Atlético Madrid
Maccabi Haifa 0–1 Borussia Dortmund
Ajax 2–0 Juventus

Knockout phase

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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 10 February 2017, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[55][56] The mechanism of the draws for each round is 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).[3]

Bracket (round of 16 onwards)

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Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
22 February
 
 
Monaco3
 
8 March
 
Real Madrid4
 
Real Madrid2
 
21 February
 
Ajax1
 
Ajax3
 
21 April – Nyon
 
Dynamo Kyiv0
 
Real Madrid2
 
22 February
 
Benfica4
 
CSKA Moscow2
 
7 March
 
Rosenborg1
 
CSKA Moscow0
 
21 February
 
Benfica2
 
PSV Eindhoven1 (4)
 
24 April – Nyon
 
Benfica (p)1 (5)
 
Benfica1
 
22 February
 
Red Bull Salzburg2
 
Barcelona4
 
7 March
 
Borussia Dortmund1
 
Barcelona2
 
21 February
 
Porto1
 
Porto3
 
21 April – Nyon
 
Viitorul Constanța0
 
Barcelona1
 
21 February
 
Red Bull Salzburg2
 
Red Bull Salzburg5
 
7 March
 
Paris Saint-Germain0
 
Red Bull Salzburg2
 
21 February
 
Atlético Madrid1
 
Atlético Madrid3
 
 
Sevilla2
 

Round of 16

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The round of 16 matches were played on 21 and 22 February 2017.

Team 1 Score Team 2
CSKA Moscow 2–1 Rosenborg
Atlético Madrid 3–2 Sevilla
Barcelona 4–1 Borussia Dortmund
Ajax 3–0 Dynamo Kyiv
Monaco 3–4 Real Madrid
Red Bull Salzburg 5–0 Paris Saint-Germain
PSV Eindhoven 1–1 (4–5 p) Benfica
Porto 3–0 Viitorul Constanța

Quarter-finals

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The quarter-finals were played on 7 and 8 March 2017.

Team 1 Score Team 2
Real Madrid 2–1 Ajax
CSKA Moscow 0–2 Benfica
Barcelona 2–1 Porto
Red Bull Salzburg 2–1 Atlético Madrid

Semi-finals

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The semi-finals were played on 21 April 2017 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[57][58]

Team 1 Score Team 2
Real Madrid 2–4 Benfica
Barcelona 1–2 Red Bull Salzburg

Final

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The final was played on 24 April 2017 at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland.[57][58]

Benfica 1–2 Red Bull Salzburg
Gomes 29'ReportDaka 72'
Schmidt 76'
Attendance: 5,000

Statistics

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Top goalscorers

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RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played
1 Jordi Mboula Barcelona8503
Kaj Sierhuis Ajax616
3 Rui Pedro Porto7525
Hannes Wolf Red Bull Salzburg590
Mërgim Berisha Red Bull Salzburg630
6 Fatih Aktay Altınordu6442
Bogdan Lednev Dynamo Kyiv609
Irvin Cardona Monaco618
Timur Zhamaletdinov CSKA Moscow720
João Félix Benfica807

Source: UEFA[59]

Top assists

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RankPlayerTeamAssistsMinutes played
1 Xaver Schlager Red Bull Salzburg5417
Justin Kluivert Ajax540
Nicklas Røjkjær Copenhagen603
Sergio Díaz Real Madrid641
5 Ba-Muaka Simakala Borussia Mönchengladbach4540
Hannes Wolf Red Bull Salzburg590
Mërgim Berisha Red Bull Salzburg630
Moussa Sylla Monaco720

Source: UEFA[60]

References

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