Champions League quarterfinals: away goals rule and what happens if there’s a tie?

After one month without Champions League action, the competition returns with four exciting quarterfinal games. Real Madrid face Chelsea, with Los Blancos being the favorites due to their experience and recent results, while the English side will be hoping to save their disastrous season and advance to the semifinals with newly appointed coach Frank Lampard.

Manchester City take on European heavyweights Bayern Munich in what is probably the most unpredictable tie. Pep Guardiola’s men, led by record-breaking Erling Haaland, have scored 21 goals in their last four games, while the Bavarians, with Thomas Tuchel as new coach after Julian Nagelsmann’s departure, are commanding the Bundesliga standings with only three losses in 27 games.

In an all-Italian battle, AC Milan and Napoli will fight for a spot in the semifinals. I Rossoneri recently thrashed Napoli in the Serie A (0-4), but Luciano Spalletti’s side have been almost unbeatable for most of the season and are the favorites to progress.

Finally we have Benfica, one of the standout teams in Europe, will be aiming to prove why they are the leaders in Portugal against an Inter team that are currently sitting fifth in the Italian top flight but that has the individual talent to emerge victorious.

Do away goals count as double in the quarterfinals?

As happened with the Champions League round of 16, the away goals won’t count as double.

This change was implemented during the 2021-22 Champions League knockout stage after the UEFA previously decided, in June of that summer, to abolish the away goals rule in all two-legged European ties.

The away goals tiebreaker rule had been around for over 50 years, since 1965.

What happens if there’s a tie after 180 minutes?

If both sides are tied after the two legs are played, they will go on to play a 30-minute extra time to decide which team will progress, with teams changing ends after 15 minutes.

If no goals are scored during extra time or both teams find the back of the net and there’s still no winner, a penalty shootout, with five spot-kicks, will be required to establish which team will advance to the next round of the tournament.

In the unlikely scenario that after five pairs of kicks, an equal number of goals have been scored by each team, players from each side will go to sudden death, where both teams’ players will take up penalty shoots until one scores and the other doesn’t.

When do the Champions League quarterfinals start?

The Champions League quarterfinals’ first legs will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the second legs will take place one week later.