2019–20 UEFA Europa League

2019–20 UEFA Europa League
The RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
27 June – 29 August 2019
Competition proper:
19 September 2019 – 21 August 2020
TeamsCompetition proper: 48+8
Total: 158+55 (from 55 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Sevilla (6th title)
Runners-upItaly Inter Milan
Tournament statistics
Matches played197
Goals scored548 (2.78 per match)
Attendance4,069,102 (20,655 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/
Manchester United)
8 goals
Best player(s)Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)[1]

The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the final, played at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, 3–2 for a record sixth title in the competition.[2] As winners, Sevilla earned the right to play against Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. Since they had already qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage through their league performance, the berth originally reserved for the Europa League title holders was given to the third-placed team of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 (Rennes), the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was suspended in mid-March 2020 and resumed in August. The quarter-finals onwards were played as a single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Germany (RheinEnergieStadion, MSV-Arena, Merkur Spiel-Arena, Arena AufSchalke) behind closed doors from 10 to 21 August.[3] The video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition from the knockout stage onwards.[4]

As the title holders of the Europa League, Chelsea qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, although they had already qualified before the final through their league performance. They were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by the ultimate winners Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Association team allocation[edit]

A total of 213 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[5]

  • Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 52–54 each had two teams qualify.
  • Liechtenstein and Kosovo (association 55) each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Kosovo as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee).[6]
  • Moreover, 55 teams eliminated from the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League (default number was 57, but 2 fewer teams competed in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League).

Association ranking[edit]

For the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2018 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2013–14 to 2017–18.[7]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
Association ranking for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  Spain 106.998 3
2  England 79.605
3  Italy 76.249 +1 (UCL)
4  Germany 71.427 +1 (UCL)
5  France 56.415
6  Russia 53.382 +1 (UCL)
7  Portugal 47.248 +2 (UCL)
8  Ukraine 41.133 +2 (UCL)
9  Belgium 38.500 +1 (UCL)
10  Turkey 35.800 +1 (UCL)
11  Austria 32.850 +2 (UCL)
12  Switzerland 30.200 +2 (UCL)
13  Czech Republic 30.175 +1 (UCL)
14  Netherlands 29.749 +2 (UCL)
15  Greece 28.600 +2 (UCL)
16  Croatia 26.000
17  Denmark 25.950 +1 (UCL)
18  Israel 21.750 +1 (UCL)
19  Cyprus 21.550 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Romania 20.450 3 +1 (UCL)
21  Poland 20.125 +1 (UCL)
22  Sweden 19.975 +1 (UCL)
23  Azerbaijan 19.125 +1 (UCL)
24  Bulgaria 19.125 +1 (UCL)
25  Serbia 18.750
26  Scotland 18.625 +1 (UCL)
27  Belarus 18.625 +1 (UCL)
28  Kazakhstan 18.125 +1 (UCL)
29  Norway 17.425 +1 (UCL)
30  Slovenia 14.500 +1 (UCL)
31  Liechtenstein 13.000 1
32  Slovakia 12.125 3 +1 (UCL)
33  Moldova 10.000 +1 (UCL)
34  Albania 8.500 +1 (UCL)
35  Iceland 8.250 +1 (UCL)
36  Hungary 8.125 +1 (UCL)
37  North Macedonia 7.500 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38  Finland 6.900 3 +1 (UCL)
39  Republic of Ireland 6.700 +1 (UCL)
40  Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.625 +1 (UCL)
41  Latvia 5.625 +1 (UCL)
42  Estonia 5.500 +1 (UCL)
43  Lithuania 5.375 +1 (UCL)
44  Montenegro 5.000 +1 (UCL)
45  Georgia 5.000 +1 (UCL)
46  Armenia 4.875 +1 (UCL)
47  Malta 4.500 +1 (UCL)
48  Luxembourg 4.375 +1 (UCL)
49  Northern Ireland 4.250 +1 (UCL)
50  Wales 3.875 +1 (UCL)
51  Faroe Islands 3.750 +1 (UCL)
52  Gibraltar 3.000 2 +1 (UCL)
53  Andorra 1.331 +1 (UCL)
54  San Marino 0.499 +1 (UCL)
55  Kosovo 0.000 1 +1 (UCL)

Distribution[edit]

The following is the access list for this season.[8]

Access list for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
Preliminary round
(14 teams)
  • 4 domestic cup winners from associations 52–55
  • 6 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–54
  • 4 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–51
First qualifying round
(94 teams)
  • 26 domestic cup winners from associations 26–51
  • 30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 7 winners from preliminary round
Second qualifying round Champions Path
(18 teams)
  • 15 losers from Champions League first qualifying round
  • 3 losers from Champions League preliminary round
Main Path
(74 teams)
  • 7 domestic cup winners from associations 19–25
  • 2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17
  • 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–15
  • 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 2 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 5–6 (League Cup winners for France)
  • 4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (League Cup winners for England)
  • 47 winners from first qualifying round
Third qualifying round Champions Path
(20 teams)
  • 9 winners from second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 1 losers from Champions League first qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(52 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 13–18
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 37 winners from second qualifying round (Main Path)
  • 2 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round Champions Path
(16 teams)
  • 10 winners from third qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(26 teams)
  • 26 winners from third qualifying round (Main Path)
Group stage
(48 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5
  • 4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–4
  • 8 winners from play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 13 winners from play-off round (Main Path)
  • 4 losers from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 2 losers from Champions League play-off round (League Path)
  • 4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)
Knockout phase
(32 teams)
  • 12 group winners from group stage
  • 12 group runners-up from group stage
  • 8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage

Changes were made to the default access list, if any of the teams that qualified for the Europa League via their domestic competitions also qualified for the Champions League as the Champions League or Europa League title holders, or if there were fewer teams transferred from the Champions League due to changes in the Champions League access list. In any case where a spot in the Europa League was vacated, cup winners of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds were promoted accordingly.

  • In the default access list, originally 17 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path). However, since the Champions League title holders (Liverpool) qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, only 16 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path). As a result, only 19 teams entered the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round would be drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).
  • In the default access list, originally three losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). However, since the Europa League title holders (Chelsea) qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, only two losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). As a result, the following changes to the access list were made:
    • The cup winners of association 18 (Israel) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
    • The cup winners of association 25 (Serbia) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
    • The cup winners of associations 50 (Wales) and 51 (Faroe Islands) entered the first qualifying round instead of the preliminary round.

Redistribution rules[edit]

A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules:

  • When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place".
  • When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place" if possible.
  • For associations where a Europa League place was reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners had already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place was taken by the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions.

Teams[edit]

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[8]

  • CW: Cup winners
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
  • LC: League Cup winners
  • RW: Regular season winners
  • PW: End-of-season Europa League play-offs winners
  • UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
    • GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
    • PO: Losers from the play-off round
    • Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round
    • Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round
    • Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
    • PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
Qualified teams for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League (by entry round)
Round of 32
Belgium Club Brugge (UCL GS) Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (UCL GS) Austria Red Bull Salzburg (UCL GS) Portugal Benfica (UCL GS)
Greece Olympiacos (UCL GS) Germany Bayer Leverkusen (UCL GS) Italy Inter Milan (UCL GS) Netherlands Ajax (UCL GS)
Group stage
Spain Getafe (5th) Germany VfL Wolfsburg (6th) Turkey Beşiktaş (3rd) Russia Krasnodar (UCL PO)
Spain Sevilla (6th) France Rennes (CW) Austria Wolfsberger AC (3rd) Austria LASK (UCL PO)
England Arsenal (5th) France Saint-Étienne (4th) Switzerland Lugano (3rd) Portugal Porto (UCL Q3)
England Manchester United (6th) Russia CSKA Moscow (4th) Switzerland Young Boys (UCL PO) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (UCL Q3)
Italy Lazio (CW) Portugal Sporting CP (CW) Cyprus APOEL (UCL PO) Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir (UCL Q3)
Italy Roma (6th)[Note ITA] Ukraine Oleksandriya (3rd) Romania CFR Cluj (UCL PO) Switzerland Basel (UCL Q3)
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach (5th) Belgium Standard Liège (3rd)[Note BEL] Norway Rosenborg (UCL PO)
Play-off round
Champions Path Main Path
Greece PAOK (UCL Q3) Scotland Celtic (UCL Q3)
Denmark Copenhagen (UCL Q3) Slovenia Maribor (UCL Q3)
Azerbaijan Qarabağ (UCL Q3) Hungary Ferencváros (UCL Q3)
Third qualifying round
Champions Path Main Path
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (UCL Q2) Estonia Nõmme Kalju (UCL Q2) Russia Spartak Moscow (5th) Netherlands Feyenoord (3rd)
Sweden AIK (UCL Q2) Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić (UCL Q2) Portugal Braga (4th) Greece AEK Athens (3rd)
Belarus BATE Borisov (UCL Q2) Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi (UCL Q2) Ukraine Mariupol (4th) Croatia Rijeka (CW)
Finland HJK (UCL Q2) Malta Valletta (UCL Q2) Belgium Antwerp (PW)[Note BEL] Denmark Midtjylland (CW)
Republic of Ireland Dundalk (UCL Q2) Wales The New Saints (UCL Q2) Turkey Trabzonspor (4th) Israel Bnei Yehuda (CW)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo (UCL Q1)[Note UCL Q1] Austria Austria Wien (4th) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (UCL Q2)
Switzerland Thun (4th) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven (UCL Q2)
Czech Republic Sparta Prague (3rd)
Second qualifying round
Champions Path Main Path
Poland Piast Gliwice (UCL Q1) Lithuania Sūduva (UCL Q1) Spain Espanyol (7th) Netherlands AZ (4th)
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (UCL Q1) Armenia Ararat-Armenia (UCL Q1) England Wolverhampton Wanderers (7th) Netherlands FC Utrecht (PW)
Kazakhstan Astana (UCL Q1) Luxembourg F91 Dudelange (UCL Q1) Italy Torino (7th)[Note ITA] Greece Atromitos (4th)
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (UCL Q1) Northern Ireland Linfield (UCL Q1) Germany Eintracht Frankfurt (7th) Greece Aris (5th)
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (UCL Q1) Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn (UCL Q1) France Strasbourg (LC) Croatia Osijek (3rd)
Albania Partizani (UCL Q1) Kosovo Feronikeli (UCL Q1) Russia Arsenal Tula (6th) Denmark Esbjerg (3rd)
Iceland Valur (UCL Q1) Andorra FC Santa Coloma (UCL PR F) Portugal Vitória de Guimarães (5th) Cyprus AEL Limassol (CW)
North Macedonia Shkëndija (UCL Q1) Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (UCL PR SF) Ukraine Zorya Luhansk (5th) Romania Viitorul Constanța (CW)
Latvia Riga (UCL Q1) San Marino Tre Penne (UCL PR SF) Belgium Gent (5th)[Note BEL] Poland Lechia Gdańsk (CW)
Turkey Yeni Malatyaspor (5th) Sweden BK Häcken (CW)
Austria Sturm Graz (PW) Azerbaijan Gabala (CW)
Switzerland Luzern (5th) Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv (CW)
Czech Republic Jablonec (4th) Serbia Partizan (CW)
Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav (PW)
First qualifying round
Croatia Hajduk Split (4th) Belarus Dinamo Minsk (3rd) Iceland Breiðablik (2nd) Estonia Flora (3rd)
Denmark Brøndby (PW) Belarus Vitebsk (4th) Iceland KR (4th) Lithuania Žalgiris (CW)
Israel Maccabi Haifa (2nd) Kazakhstan Kairat (CW) Hungary Fehérvár (CW) Lithuania Riteriai (3rd)
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva (3rd) Kazakhstan Tobol (3rd) Hungary Debrecen (3rd) Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris (5th)[Note LTU]
Cyprus AEK Larnaca (2nd) Kazakhstan Ordabasy (4th) Hungary Honvéd (4th) Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (CW)
Cyprus Apollon Limassol (3rd) Norway Molde (2nd) North Macedonia Akademija Pandev (CW) Montenegro Zeta (3rd)
Romania FCSB (2nd) Norway Brann (3rd) North Macedonia Shkupi (4th) Montenegro Titograd (4th)
Romania Universitatea Craiova (4th) Norway Haugesund (4th) North Macedonia Makedonija (5th)[Note MKD] Georgia (country) Torpedo Kutaisi (CW)
Poland Legia Warsaw (2nd) Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana (CW) Finland Inter Turku (CW) Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (2nd)
Poland Cracovia (4th) Slovenia Domžale (3rd) Finland RoPS (2nd) Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere (4th)
Sweden IFK Norrköping (2nd) Slovenia Mura (4th) Finland KuPS (3rd) Armenia Alashkert (CW)
Sweden Malmö FF (3rd) Liechtenstein Vaduz (CW) Republic of Ireland Cork City (2nd) Armenia Pyunik (2nd)
Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku (2nd) Slovakia Spartak Trnava (CW) Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (3rd) Armenia Banants (3rd)
Azerbaijan Sabail (3rd) Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda (2nd) Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic (5th)[Note IRL] Malta Balzan (CW)
Bulgaria CSKA Sofia (2nd) Slovakia Ružomberok (3rd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar (2nd) Malta Hibernians (2nd)
Bulgaria Levski Sofia (PW) Moldova Milsami Orhei (2nd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Široki Brijeg (3rd) Malta Gżira United (3rd)
Serbia Radnički Niš (2nd) Moldova Petrocub Hîncești (3rd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Radnik Bijeljina (5th)[Note BIH] Luxembourg Fola Esch (2nd)
Serbia Čukarički (4th) Moldova Speranța Nisporeni (4th) Latvia Ventspils (2nd) Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch (3rd)
Scotland Rangers (2nd) Albania Kukësi (CW) Latvia RFS (3rd) Northern Ireland Crusaders (CW)
Scotland Kilmarnock (3rd) Albania Teuta (3rd) Latvia Liepāja (4th) Wales Connah's Quay Nomads (2nd)
Scotland Aberdeen (4th) Albania Laçi (6th)[Note ALB] Estonia Narva Trans (CW) Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn (CW)
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk (CW) Iceland Stjarnan (CW) Estonia FCI Levadia (2nd)
Preliminary round
Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn (4th) Wales Cardiff Metropolitan University (PW) Gibraltar St Joseph's (3rd) San Marino La Fiorita (2nd)
Northern Ireland Ballymena United (2nd) Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík (2nd) Andorra Engordany (CW) Kosovo Prishtina (2nd)
Northern Ireland Cliftonville (PW) Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík (4th) Andorra Sant Julià (2nd)
Wales Barry Town United (3rd) Gibraltar Europa (CW) San Marino Tre Fiori (CW)

One team not playing a national top division took part in the competition; Vaduz (representing Liechtenstein) played in 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League, which is Switzerland's 2nd tier.

Notes
  1. ^
    Albania (ALB): Skënderbeu would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2018–19 Albanian Superliga, but were banned from entering UEFA competitions.[9] As a result, the berth was given to the sixth-placed team of the league, Laçi, since the fifth-placed team of the league, Flamurtari, failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[10]
  2. ^
    Belgium (BEL): Mechelen would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the winners of the 2018–19 Belgian Cup, but were found guilty on match-fixing as part of the 2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandal, and thus prohibited by the Royal Belgian Football Association to take part in the 2019–20 European competitions. Mechelen appealed the decision,[11] but the final ruling was announced on 17 July 2019 by the Belgian Arbitration Court for Sports, and Mechelen remained banned,[12] and were subsequently replaced by UEFA.[13] As a result, the third-placed team of the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A, Standard Liège, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the Europa League play-off winners of the league, Antwerp, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Gent.[14]
  3. ^
    Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH): Željezničar would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth placed team of the 2018–19 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[15] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Radnik Bijeljina.
  4. ^
    Italy (ITA): Milan qualified for the Europa League group stage as the fifth-placed of the 2018–19 Serie A, but were found guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules and were excluded from competing in European competitions in 2019–20.[16] As a result, the sixth-placed team of the 2018–19 Serie A, Roma, entered the group stage instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the seventh-placed team of the league, Torino.
  5. ^
    Lithuania (LTU): Stumbras would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth placed team of the 2018 A Lyga, but had their UEFA licence stripped.[17] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Kauno Žalgiris.[18]
  6. ^
    North Macedonia (MKD): Vardar would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the runners-up of the 2018–19 Macedonian First Football League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[19] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Makedonija GP.
  7. ^
    Republic of Ireland (IRL): Waterford would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division, but were ruled by UEFA to have not passed the "three-year rule" as the club were reformed in 2016.[20] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, St Patrick's Athletic.
  8. ^
    Champions League (UCL Q1): Sarajevo were drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round, as one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to a Champions League group stage berth vacated by the Champions League title holders.

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).[21] Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

The competition was suspended on 17 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[22] A working group was set up by UEFA to decide the calendar of the remainder of the season.[23] On 17 June 2020, UEFA announced the revised schedule for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the competition, to be played in single-leg matches.[3]

Schedule for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 11 June 2019 27 June 2019 4 July 2019
First qualifying round 18 June 2019 11 July 2019 18 July 2019
Second qualifying round 19 June 2019 25 July 2019 1 August 2019
Third qualifying round 22 July 2019 8 August 2019 15 August 2019
Play-off Play-off round 5 August 2019 22 August 2019 29 August 2019
Group stage Matchday 1 30 August 2019
(Monaco)
19 September 2019
Matchday 2 3 October 2019
Matchday 3 24 October 2019
Matchday 4 7 November 2019
Matchday 5 28 November 2019
Matchday 6 12 December 2019
Knockout phase Round of 32 16 December 2019 20 February 2020 27 February 2020
Round of 16 28 February 2020 12 March 2020 5–6 August 2020
Quarter-finals 10 July 2020 10–11 August 2020
Semi-finals 16–17 August 2020
Final 21 August 2020 at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne

The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.

Original schedule for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 11 June 2019 27 June 2019 4 July 2019
First qualifying round 18 June 2019 11 July 2019 18 July 2019
Second qualifying round 19 June 2019 25 July 2019 1 August 2019
Third qualifying round 22 July 2019 8 August 2019 15 August 2019
Play-off Play-off round 5 August 2019 22 August 2019 29 August 2019
Group stage Matchday 1 30 August 2019
(Monaco)
19 September 2019
Matchday 2 3 October 2019
Matchday 3 24 October 2019
Matchday 4 7 November 2019
Matchday 5 28 November 2019
Matchday 6 12 December 2019
Knockout phase Round of 32 16 December 2019 20 February 2020 27 February 2020
Round of 16 28 February 2020 12 March 2020 19 March 2020
Quarter-finals 20 March 2020 9 April 2020 16 April 2020
Semi-finals 30 April 2020 7 May 2020
Final 27 May 2020 at Stadion Energa Gdańsk, Gdańsk

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic[edit]

Due to the varying rates of transmission of COVID-19 across European countries during the time of the Round of 16 first leg ties, different matches were affected in different ways. Because of this severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy at the time, the games involving Inter Milan and A.S. Roma were postponed,[24] whereas games hosted in Greece, Germany, and Austria went ahead but behind closed doors.[25] Games hosted in Turkey and Scotland went ahead as normal. On 15 March, UEFA announced that none of the Round of 16 second leg ties would go ahead in the following week, postponing them indefinitely,[26] with a taskforce convened to reschedule the rest of the season.[23] On 23 March, it was announced that the Stadion Energa Gdańsk in Gdańsk, Poland would no longer host the competition Final, originally scheduled for 27 May, but would host the 2021 Final instead.[27]

On 17 June it was announced that the Europa League would return on 5 August and conclude on 21 August,[3] with a last-eight tournament to be held across four venues in Germany.[28] The remainder of the competition would be played in a mini-tournament style with remaining fixture to be played as single legged ties except for the Round of 16 fixtures where the first leg had already been played.[29] All remaining ties of the competition were played behind closed doors due to the remaining presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[25]

Final tournament venues[edit]

Cologne Duisburg
RheinEnergieStadion
(final venue)
MSV-Arena
Capacity: 49,698 Capacity: 31,514
Düsseldorf Gelsenkirchen
Merkur Spiel-Arena Arena AufSchalke
Capacity: 54,600 Capacity: 62,271

Qualifying rounds[edit]

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2019 UEFA club coefficients,[30] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

Preliminary round[edit]

In the preliminary round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2019 UEFA club coefficients,[30] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

The draw for the preliminary round was held on 11 June 2019.[31] The first legs were played on 27 June, and the second legs on 2 and 4 July 2019.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Progrès Niederkorn Luxembourg 2–2 (a) Wales Cardiff Metropolitan University 1–0 1–2
La Fiorita San Marino 1–3 Andorra Engordany 0–1 1–2
Sant Julià Andorra 3–6 Gibraltar Europa 3–2 0–4
Ballymena United Northern Ireland 2–0 Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík 2–0 0–0
Prishtina Kosovo 1–3 Gibraltar St Joseph's 1–1 0–2
KÍ Klaksvík Faroe Islands 9–1[A] San Marino Tre Fiori 5–1 4–0
Barry Town United Wales 0–4 Northern Ireland Cliftonville 0–0 0–4

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

First qualifying round[edit]

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2019.[32] The first legs were played on 9, 10 and 11 July, and the second legs on 16, 17 and 18 July 2019.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Malmö FF Sweden 11–0 Northern Ireland Ballymena United 7–0 4–0
Connah's Quay Nomads Wales 3–2 Scotland Kilmarnock 1–2 2–0
KuPS Finland 3–1[A] Belarus Vitebsk 2–0 1–1
Breiðablik Iceland 1–2 Liechtenstein Vaduz 0–0 1–2
Brann Norway 3–4 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 2–2 1–2
Ordabasy Kazakhstan 3–0 Georgia (country) Torpedo Kutaisi 1–0 2–0
Europa Gibraltar 0–3 Poland Legia Warsaw 0–0 0–3
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 4–0 Montenegro Titograd 4–0 0–0
Gżira United Malta 3–3 (a) Croatia Hajduk Split 0–2 3–1
Flora Estonia 4–2[A] Serbia Radnički Niš 2–0 2–2
Maccabi Haifa Israel 5–2 Slovenia Mura 2–0 3–2
Debrecen Hungary 4–1 Albania Kukësi 3–0 1–1
Čukarički Serbia 8–0 Armenia Banants 3–0 5–0
Jeunesse Esch Luxembourg 1–1 (a) Kazakhstan Tobol 0–0 1–1
FCSB Romania 4–1 Moldova Milsami Orhei 2–0 2–1
Crusaders Northern Ireland 5–2 Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 2–0 3–2
Brøndby Denmark 4–3[A] Finland Inter Turku 4–1 0–2
Molde Norway 7–1 Iceland KR 7–1 0–0
St Joseph's Gibraltar 0–10 Scotland Rangers 0–4 0–6
Cork City Republic of Ireland 2–3 Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn 0–2 2–1
Ružomberok Slovakia 0–4[A] Bulgaria Levski Sofia 0–2 0–2
Akademija Pandev North Macedonia 0–6 Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 0–3 0–3
Speranța Nisporeni Moldova 0–9[A] Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku 0–3 0–6
Zeta Montenegro 1–5 Hungary Fehérvár 1–5 0–0
Shakhtyor Soligorsk Belarus 2–0 Malta Hibernians 1–0 1–0
Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia 4–3 Latvia RFS 2–3 2–0
Honvéd Hungary 4–2 Lithuania Žalgiris 3–1 1–1
Alashkert Armenia 6–1 North Macedonia Makedonija GP 3–1 3–0
Radnik Bijeljina Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–2 (2–3 p) Slovakia Spartak Trnava 2–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Fola Esch Luxembourg 2–4 Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere 1–2 1–2
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country) 7–0 Andorra Engordany 6–0 1–0
Široki Brijeg Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–4 Kazakhstan Kairat 1–2 1–2
DAC Dunajská Streda Slovakia 3–3 (a)[A] Poland Cracovia 1–1 2–2 (a.e.t.)
Kauno Žalgiris Lithuania 0–6 Cyprus Apollon Limassol 0–2 0–4
Ventspils Latvia 3–1 Albania Teuta 3–0 0–1
Stjarnan Iceland 4–4 (a) Estonia FCI Levadia 2–1 2–3 (a.e.t.)
Cliftonville Northern Ireland 1–6 Norway Haugesund 0–1 1–5
Riteriai Lithuania 1–1 (a) Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík 1–1 0–0
Liepāja Latvia 3–2[A] Belarus Dinamo Minsk 1–1 2–1
St Patrick's Athletic Republic of Ireland 1–4[A] Sweden IFK Norrköping 0–2 1–2
Aberdeen Scotland 4–2 Finland RoPS 2–1 2–1
Balzan Malta 3–5[A] Slovenia Domžale 3–4 0–1
Laçi Albania 1–2 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–1 0–1
Narva Trans Estonia 1–6[A] Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica 0–2 1–4
Sabail Azerbaijan 4–6 Romania Universitatea Craiova 2–3 2–3
Pyunik Armenia 5–4 North Macedonia Shkupi 3–3 2–1
AEK Larnaca Cyprus 2–0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești 1–0 1–0

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second qualifying round[edit]

The second qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for cup winners and league non-champions).

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2019.[33] The first legs were played on 23, 24 and 25 July, and the second legs on 30, 31 July and 1 August 2019.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Bye n/a n/a n/a
Tre Penne San Marino 0–10 Lithuania Sūduva 0–5 0–5
Piast Gliwice Poland 4–4 (a) Latvia Riga 3–2 1–2
Partizani Albania 1–2 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 0–1 1–1
Ararat-Armenia Armenia 4–1 Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps 2–0 2–1
Valur Iceland 1–5 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 1–1 0–4
Slovan Bratislava Slovakia 4–1 Kosovo Feronikeli 2–1 2–0
FC Santa Coloma Andorra 1–4 Kazakhstan Astana 0–0 1–4
HB Tórshavn Faroe Islands 2–3 Northern Ireland Linfield 2–2 0–1
Shkëndija North Macedonia 2–3 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 1–2 1–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Main Path
IFK Norrköping Sweden 3–0 Latvia Liepāja 2–0 1–0
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel 3–1 Kazakhstan Kairat 2–0 1–1
Arsenal Tula Russia 0–4 Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku 0–1 0–3
Espanyol Spain 7–1 Iceland Stjarnan 4–0 3–1
DAC Dunajská Streda Slovakia 3–5 Greece Atromitos 1–2 2–3
Haugesund Norway 3–2 Austria Sturm Graz 2–0 1–2
AEK Larnaca Cyprus 7–0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia 3–0 4–0
Legia Warsaw Poland 1–0 Finland KuPS 1–0 0–0
FC Utrecht Netherlands 2–3 Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 1–1 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Pyunik Armenia 2–1 Czech Republic Jablonec 2–1 0–0
Lechia Gdańsk Poland 3–5 Denmark Brøndby 2–1 1–4 (a.e.t.)
Fehérvár Hungary 1–2 Liechtenstein Vaduz 1–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Gabala Azerbaijan 0–5 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 0–2 0–3
Yeni Malatyaspor Turkey 3–2 Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana 2–2 1–0
Flora Estonia 2–4 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 1–2 1–2
Domžale Slovenia 4–5 Sweden Malmö FF 2–2 2–3
Molde Norway 3–1 Serbia Čukarički 0–0 3–1
Chikhura Sachkhere Georgia (country) 1–6[A] Scotland Aberdeen 1–1 0–5
Gent Belgium 7–5 Romania Viitorul Constanța 6–3 1–2
Budućnost Podgorica Montenegro 1–4 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 1–3 0–1
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 1–1 (4–3 p) Croatia Osijek 1–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Torino Italy 7–1 Hungary Debrecen 3–0 4–1
Luzern Switzerland 2–0 Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík 1–0 1–0
Rangers Scotland 2–0 Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn 2–0 0–0
Ventspils Latvia 6–2 Malta Gżira United 4–0 2–2
Strasbourg France 4–3 Israel Maccabi Haifa 3–1 1–2
Mladá Boleslav Czech Republic 4–3 Kazakhstan Ordabasy 1–1 3–2
Shamrock Rovers Republic of Ireland 3–4 Cyprus Apollon Limassol 2–1 1–3 (a.e.t.)
AZ Netherlands 3–0 Sweden BK Häcken 0–0 3–0
Alashkert Armenia 3–5 Romania FCSB 0–3 3–2
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria 3–3 (a) Slovakia Spartak Trnava 2–0 1–3
Wolverhampton Wanderers England 6–1 Northern Ireland Crusaders 2–0 4–1
Aris Greece 1–0 Cyprus AEL Limassol 0–0 1–0
Jeunesse Esch Luxembourg 0–5 Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 0–1 0–4
Honvéd Hungary 0–0 (1–3 p) Romania Universitatea Craiova 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.)
Shakhtyor Soligorsk Belarus 2–0 Denmark Esbjerg 2–0 0–0
Connah's Quay Nomads Wales 0–4 Serbia Partizan 0–1 0–3

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Third qualifying round[edit]

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for cup winners and league non-champions).

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2019.[34] The first legs were played on 6, 7 and 8 August, and the second legs on 13, 14 and 15 August 2019.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Sutjeska Nikšić Montenegro 3–5 Northern Ireland Linfield 1–2 2–3
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 2–4 Lithuania Sūduva 1–2 1–2
Ararat-Armenia Armenia 3–2 Georgia (country) Saburtalo Tbilisi 1–2 2–0
Riga Latvia 3–3 (a) Finland HJK 1–1 2–2
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria 9–0 Wales The New Saints 5–0 4–0
Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–2 Belarus BATE Borisov 1–2 0–0
F91 Dudelange Luxembourg 4–1 Estonia Nõmme Kalju 3–1 1–0
Astana Kazakhstan 9–1 Malta Valletta 5–1 4–0
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova 2–3 Sweden AIK 1–2 1–1
Slovan Bratislava Slovakia 4–1 Republic of Ireland Dundalk 1–0 3–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Main Path
IFK Norrköping Sweden 2–4 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–1 1–3
Torino Italy 6–1 Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk 5–0 1–1
Antwerp Belgium 2–2 (a) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 1–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Austria Wien Austria 2–5 Cyprus Apollon Limassol 1–2 1–3
Feyenoord Netherlands 5–1 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 4–0 1–1
Brøndby Denmark 3–7 Portugal Braga 2–4 1–3
Molde Norway 4–3 Greece Aris 3–0 1–3 (a.e.t.)
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria 0–2 France Strasbourg 0–1 0–1
Thun Switzerland 3–5 Russia Spartak Moscow 2–3 1–2
FCSB Romania 1–0 Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav 0–0 1–0
Pyunik Armenia 0–8 England Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–4 0–4
Midtjylland Denmark 3–7 Scotland Rangers 2–4 1–3
Mariupol Ukraine 0–4 Netherlands AZ 0–0 0–4
AEK Larnaca Cyprus 1–4 Belgium Gent 1–1 0–3
Legia Warsaw Poland 2–0 Greece Atromitos 0–0 2–0
Haugesund Norway 0–1 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0–1 0–0
Rijeka Croatia 4–0 Scotland Aberdeen 2–0 2–0
Ventspils Latvia 0–9 Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 0–3 0–6
Vaduz Liechtenstein 0–6 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 0–5 0–1
Partizan Serbia 3–2 Turkey Yeni Malatyaspor 3–1 0–1
Malmö FF Sweden 3–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 3–0 0–1
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria 1–2 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 1–1 0–1
Neftçi Baku Azerbaijan 3–4 Israel Bnei Yehuda 2–2 1–2
Luzern Switzerland 0–6 Spain Espanyol 0–3 0–3
Sparta Prague Czech Republic 3–4 Turkey Trabzonspor 2–2 1–2
Universitatea Craiova Romania 1–3 Greece AEK Athens 0–2 1–1

Play-off round[edit]

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Path (for league champions) and League Path (for cup winners and league non-champions).

The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2019.[35] The first legs were played on 22 August, and the second legs will be played on 29 August 2019.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Champions Path
Sūduva