2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

The 2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 26 September to 19 December 2020 in Qatar.[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2020 AFC Champions League.[2]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage advanced to the round of 16, with both West Region (Groups A–D) and East Region (Groups E–H) having eight qualified teams.

Region Group Winners Runners-up
West Region A Al-Ahli Esteghlal
B Pakhtakor Shabab Al-Ahli
C Persepolis Al-Taawoun
D Al-Nassr Al-Sadd
East Region E Beijing FC Melbourne Victory
F Ulsan Hyundai FC Tokyo
G Vissel Kobe Suwon Samsung Bluewings
H Yokohama F. Marinos Shanghai SIPG

Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played as a single-leg match at centralised venues, instead of the usual home-and-away two-legged basis as planned before the COVID-19 pandemic. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary.

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.

Round West Region East Region
Round of 16 26–27 September 2020 6–7 December 2020
Quarter-finals 30 September 10 December 2020
Semi-finals 3 October 2020 13 December 2020
Final 19 December 2020

The original schedule, as planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, was as follows.

  • Round of 16: 18–19 May (West Region first legs), 25–27 May (West Region second legs and East Region first legs), 16–17 June (East Region second legs)
  • Quarter-finals: 24–26 August (first legs), 14–16 September (second legs)
  • Semi-finals: 29–30 September (first legs), 20–21 October (second legs)
  • Final: 22 November (first leg), 28 November (second leg)

After meetings with representatives of the member associations from the East Region held on 2 March 2020 and from the West Region held on 7–8 March 2020, it was agreed that the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals would be moved to 10–12 and 24–26 August, 14–16 and 28–30 September, and 20–21 and 27–28 October.[3][4]

On 9 July 2020, the AFC announced the new schedule for the remaining matches, with all matches before the final played at centralised venues. The West Region round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals would be played on 26–27 September, 30 September and 3 October, and the East Region round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals would be played on 3–4 November, 25 November and 28 November. The final would be played on 5 December, at a venue in the West Region.[5][6] On 10 September 2020, the AFC announced that East Region round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were rescheduled to be played on 6–7 December, 10 December and 13 December, and the final were rescheduled to 19 December.[7]

Venues

On 16 July 2020, the AFC announced that Qatar would host all West Region matches after restart.[8] On 27 July 2020, the AFC announced that Malaysia would host two round of 16 matches involving teams from Group G and H, and both quarter-finals and the semi-final of the East Region.[9] However, on 9 October 2020, the AFC announced that following an agreement with Qatar Football Association, all East Region matches after restart would also be played in Qatar.[10] On 16 October 2020, the AFC announced that the final would be played in Doha, Qatar.[11]

The following centralised venues in Qatar were used:

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:

Round West Region East Region
Round of 16
  • Winners of Group A vs. Runners-up of Group B
  • Winners of Group B vs. Runners-up of Group A
  • Winners of Group C vs. Runners-up of Group D
  • Winners of Group D vs. Runners-up of Group C
  • Winners of Group E vs. Runners-up of Group F
  • Winners of Group F vs. Runners-up of Group E
  • Winners of Group G vs. Runners-up of Group H
  • Winners of Group H vs. Runners-up of Group G
Quarter-finals (Matchups decided by draw, involving four round of 16 winners)
  • QF West 1
  • QF West 2
 (Matchups decided by draw, involving four round of 16 winners)
  • QF East 1
  • QF East 2
Semi-finals
  • SF West: Winners of QF West 1 vs. Winners of QF West 2
  • SF East: Winners of QF East 1 vs. Winners of QF East 2
Final
  • Winners of SF West vs. Winners of SF East

The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals. The draw for the West Region quarter-finals was held on 28 September 2020, 11:00 AST (UTC+3), and the draw for the East Region quarter-finals was held on 8 December 2020, 11:30 AST (UTC+3), both in Doha, Qatar.[12][13][14][15]

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
27 September – Education City
 
 
 Al-Nassr1
 
30 September – Jassim Bin Hamad
 
 Al-Taawoun0
 
 Al-Nassr2
 
26 September – Al Janoub
 
 Al-Ahli0
 
 Al-Ahli (p)1 (4)
 
3 October – Jassim Bin Hamad
 
 Shabab Al-Ahli1 (3)
 
 Al-Nassr1 (3)
 
27 September – Education City
 
 Persepolis (p)1 (5)
 
 Persepolis1
 
30 September – Jassim Bin Hamad
 
 Al-Sadd0
 
 Persepolis2
 
26 September – Al Janoub
 
 Pakhtakor0
 
 Pakhtakor2
 
19 December – Al Janoub
 
 Esteghlal1
 
 Persepolis1
 
6 December – Education City
 
 Ulsan Hyundai2
 
 Ulsan Hyundai3
 
10 December – Al Janoub
 
 Melbourne Victory0
 
 Ulsan Hyundai2
 
6 December – Education City
 
 Beijing FC0
 
 Beijing FC1
 
13 December – Jassim Bin Hamad
 
 FC Tokyo0
 
 Ulsan Hyundai (a.e.t.)2
 
7 December – Khalifa International
 
 Vissel Kobe1
 
 Vissel Kobe2
 
10 December – Al Janoub
 
 Shanghai SIPG0
 
 Vissel Kobe (p)1 (7)
 
7 December – Khalifa International
 
 Suwon Samsung Bluewings1 (6)
 
 Yokohama F. Marinos2
 
 
 Suwon Samsung Bluewings3
 

Round of 16

Summary

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played against the runners-up of another group from the same region and the matchups were determined by the group stage draw.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Al-Ahli 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		 Shabab Al-Ahli
Pakhtakor 2–1 Esteghlal
Persepolis 1–0 Al-Sadd
Al-Nassr 1–0 Al-Taawoun
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Beijing FC 1–0 FC Tokyo
Ulsan Hyundai 3–0 Melbourne Victory
Vissel Kobe 2–0 Shanghai SIPG
Yokohama F. Marinos 2–3 Suwon Samsung Bluewings

West Region
Pakhtakor 2–1 Esteghlal
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Persepolis 1–0 Al-Sadd
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Al-Nassr 1–0 Al-Taawoun
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

East Region
Beijing FC 1–0 FC Tokyo
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Ulsan Hyundai 3–0 Melbourne Victory
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Vissel Kobe 2–0 Shanghai SIPG
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0

Quarter-finals

Summary

In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection. The draw for the West Region quarter-finals was held on 28 September 2020,[12][13] and the draw for the East Region quarter-finals was held on 8 December 2020.[14][15]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Al-Nassr 2–0 Al-Ahli
Persepolis 2–0 Pakhtakor
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Ulsan Hyundai 2–0 Beijing FC
Vissel Kobe 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(7–6 p)		 Suwon Samsung Bluewings

West Region
Al-Nassr 2–0 Al-Ahli
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0
Persepolis 2–0 Pakhtakor
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0

East Region
Ulsan Hyundai 2–0 Beijing FC
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0

Semi-finals

Summary

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played against each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played against each other.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Al-Nassr 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–5 p)		 Persepolis
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Ulsan Hyundai 2–1 (a.e.t.) Vissel Kobe

West Region

East Region
Ulsan Hyundai 2–1 (a.e.t.) Vissel Kobe
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 0

Final

Main article: 2020 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played against each other, at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar.[11]

Persepolis 1–2 Ulsan Hyundai
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 8,517

Notes
  1. The semi-final of the East Region was originally scheduled to be played at Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, but was moved to Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, to ensure optimum pitch conditions for the semi-final and the final.[16]

References
  1. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". Asian Football Confederation. 6 December 2019.
  2. "2020 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.
  3. "East Zone teams agree to new dates". AFC. 2 March 2020.
  4. "AFC Emergency Meetings conclude in Doha and Dubai". AFC. 8 March 2020.
  5. "AFC reiterates commitment to complete 2020 competitions with new calendar". AFC. 9 July 2020.
  6. "AFC Champions League revised schedule". Asian Football Confederation. 9 July 2020.
  7. "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". Asian Football Confederation. 9 September 2020.
  8. "Qatar to host 2020 AFC Champions League in the West region". Asian Football Confederation. 16 July 2020.
  9. "Malaysia to host AFC Champions League Groups G and H". Asian Football Confederation. 27 July 2020.
  10. "AFC Champions League (East) to be staged in Doha". Asian Football Confederation. 9 October 2020.
  11. "AFC Champions League Final to be played in Doha, Qatar". AFC. 16 October 2020.
  12. "AFC Champions League (West): Quarter-finalists confirmed". AFC. 27 September 2020.
  13. "AFC Champions League (West): Quarter-finals decided". AFC. 28 September 2020.
  14. "2020 AFC Champions League (East): Quarter-final cast finalised". AFC. 7 December 2020.
  15. "Epic clashes ahead following 2020 AFC Champions League (East) knockout stage draw". AFC. 8 December 2020.
  16. "AFC Champions League (East) Semi-final moved to Jassim bin Hamad Stadium". AFC. 11 December 2020.
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