Champions League group tiebreakers: What happens if teams are tied on points in European football competition?

In an improbable settler at the end of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage, Group H was decided on the sixth tiebreaker in the competition.

That meant the most away goals scored in the group stage proved decisive after group leaders Paris St-Germain and Benfica won their final games to finish even on points, head-to-head results, goal differential and goals scored. 

Utimately, it came down to away goals scored in the tournament — and largely thanks to a 6-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in Israel, the Portuguese side claimed top spot.

How do the tiebreakers work in the Champions League 2023/24? Here’s what you need to know and a look at the groups this season.

MORE: Arsenal’s Champions League schedule

Champions League group stage tiebreakers

The full list of UEFA Champions League group stage tiebreakers follow below as per the official tournament regulations: 

1. Points obtained in group matches played among teams in question
2. Superior goal difference from group matches played among teams in question
3. Goals scored in group matches played among teams in question
4. Criteria 1-3 reapplied exclusively to the matches between the remaining teams
5. Superior goal difference in all group matches
6. Goals scored in all group matches
7. Away goals scored in all group matches
8. Wins in all group matches
9. Away wins in all group matches
10. Disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards
11. UEFA club coefficient

Here’s how the groups in which teams finished level on points were settled at the end of the 2022/23 group stage.

Group A

Liverpool became the first team to beat Napoli in 2022/23 with a 2-0 victory over the Italian side, but it wasn’t enough to overcome them for first place after Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1 in their first meeting, giving them a +1 goal differential in matches against Liverpool.

• Q = qualified to the Round of 16
• UEL = clinched berth to Europa League knockout playoffs
• E = eliminated

Group H

PSG beat Juventus 2-1 on the final matchday, while Benfica thrashed Maccabi Haifa 6-1 in Israel. So here’s how it went down with the group stage tiebreakers:

1. Points obtained in group matches played among teams in question (Both matches finished 1-1)
2. Superior goal difference from group matches played among teams in question (For two, against two for both teams)
3. Goals scored in group matches played among teams in question (Both scored twice)
4. Superior goal difference in all group matches (Both finished with +9)
5. Goals scored in all group matches (Both scored 16 goals)
6. Away goals scored in all group matches (Benfica wins 9-6)

So after 540 minutes of action, the sixth tiebreaker was required to separate the two group leaders.

• Q = qualified to the Round of 16
• UEL = clinched berth to Europa League knockout playoffs
• E = eliminated

MORE: UEFA Champions League prize money breakdown

UEFA Champions League schedule 2023-2024

This season’s edition of the UEFA Champions League returns with a familiar format, as it has for the last number of years.

As usual, the tournament started out with qualifying and playoff rounds, which filter teams into the 32-team group stage. Only the top two finishers in each group advance to the Round of 16, which kicks off in February of 2024. Two-leg, aggregate-goal knockout rounds are played the rest of the way through to the single game final that will be held on June 1, 2024 at Wembley Stadium in England.

No away goals tiebreaker

As has been the case since the 2021/22 tournament, away goals will not factor into the aggregate scoreline for Champions League knockout rounds, and any level aggregate scoreline will trigger extra-time and penalties. That change nullified the away goals tiebreaker which had been in place since 1965.

UEFA Champions League groups

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

UEFA Champions League knockout round schedule, matches

Sixteen clubs that finish first or second in the group stage will advance to the knockout round. They will be seeded by group stage finish, with seeded teams drawn against unseeded teams for the Round of 16.

The quarterfinal draw will set the rest of the bracket through to the final at Wembley Stadium.

Round of 16

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

UEFA Champions League clubs by country

Here are the 32 teams to contest the 2023/24 group stage, and which country they hail from.

They include defending champions Manchester City, Europa League champions Sevilla, 24 league qualifiers, and six playoff round qualifiers.