The UEFA Champions League 2008–09 is the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009.^[1] It is the eighth time the European Cup final has been held in Italy and the fourth time it has been held at the Stadio Olimpico. Manchester United are the defending champions.

A total of 76 teams from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition) will participate in the 2008-09 Champions League. Countries are allocated places according to the 2007 UEFA league co-efficient ranking. The title holder entry is not used since Manchester United qualified for the group stage as the Premier League (Association 2) champions.

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 Champions League:

• Associations 1-3 (Spain, England and Italy) each have four teams qualify
• Associations 4-6 (France, Germany, and Portugal) each have three teams qualify
• Associations 7-15 (Romania, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Greece) each have two teams qualify
• Associations 16-53 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify

First qualifying round: (28 teams)

• 28 champions from associations 25-53

Second qualifying round: (28 teams)

• 14 winners from the first qualifying round
• 8 champions from associations 17-24 (Switzerland, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Denmark, Austria, Poland and Hungary)
• 6 runners-up from associations 10-15

Third qualifying round: (32 teams)

• 14 winners from the second qualifying round
• 6 champions from associations 11-16
• 3 runners-up from associations 7-9 (the Netherlands enter the winners of a series of play-off games rather than the runners-up automatically qualifying)
• 6 third-place finishers from associations 1-6
• 3 fourth-place finishers from associations 1-3

Group stage: (32 teams)

• 16 winners from the third qualifying round
• 10 champions from associations 1-10
• 6 runners-up from associations 1-6

Group stage
Real Madrid	Internazionale	Bayern Munich	CFR Cluj
Villarreal	Roma	Werder Bremen	PSV Eindhoven
Manchester UnitedTH	Lyon	Porto	Zenit St. Petersburg
Chelsea	Bordeaux	Sporting CP	Celtic[A]
Third qualifying round
Barcelona	Fiorentina	Twente	Slavia Prague
Atlético Madrid	Marseille	Spartak Moscow	Galatasaray
Arsenal	Schalke 04	Shakhtar Donetsk	Olympiacos
Liverpool	Vitória Guimarães	Standard Liège	Levski Sofia[A]
Juventus	Steaua
Second qualifying round
Rangers	Fenerbahçe	Beitar Jerusalem	Rapid Wien
Dynamo Kyiv	Panathinaikos	Partizan	Wisła Kraków[A]
Anderlecht	Basel	Aalborg BK	MTK Budapest[A]
Sparta Prague	Brann
First qualifying round
Artmedia Petržalka	Kaunas	BATE	Llanelli
Dinamo Zagreb	Tampere United	Dinamo Tirana	NSÍ Runavík
Anorthosis	Sheriff Tiraspol	Levadia	F91 Dudelange
IFK Göteborg	Drogheda United	Pyunik Yerevan	Valletta
Domžale	Dinamo Tbilisi	Inter Baku	Santa Coloma
Modriča	Rabotnički	Aktobe	Murata
Ventspils	Valur	Linfield	Budućnost Podgorica

^TH Title Holder

On 4 June 2008, a decision was taken to exclude Portuguese champions Porto from this year's competition, after the club was found guilty of bribing referees in the Portuguese Liga during the 2003-04 season.^[2] As a result, Vitória Guimarães were promoted from the 3rd qualifying round to the group stage and Benfica from the UEFA Cup into the 3rd qualifying round. However, after Porto appealed the decision, the decision was referred by UEFA's Appeals Body back to the Control & Disciplinary Body for re-assessment.^[3] The meeting to re-assess the situation took place on 16 June 2008, with the decision being reversed and Porto being allowed back into the 2008-09 Champions League. The decision was taken due to Porto's disciplinary process in Portugal not yet being complete.^[4]

Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia were excluded from the tournament having failed to secure a UEFA licence due to the club being in debt to various government bodies and creditors.^[5] Levski Sofia took their place in the 3rd qualifying round.

The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Tuesday, 1 July 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were held on 15 July and 16 July, while the second legs were played on 22 July and 23 July 2008.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Linfield	1–3	Dinamo Zagreb	0–2	1–1
Valletta	0–3	Artmedia Petržalka	0–2	0–1
Dinamo Tbilisi	3–1	NSÍ Runavík	3–0	0–1
Santa Coloma	2–7	Kaunas	1–4	1–3
Murata	0–9	IFK Göteborg	0–5	0–4
Llanelli	1–4	Ventspils	1–0	0–4
Anorthosis	3–0	Pyunik Yerevan	1–0	2–0
Inter Baku	(a) 1–1	Rabotnički	0–0	1–1
Tampere United	3–2	Budućnost	2–1	1–1
F91 Dudelange	0–3	Domžale	0–1	0–2
Dinamo Tirana	1–4	Modriča	0–2	1–2
Aktobe	1–4	Sheriff Tiraspol	1–0	0–4
Drogheda United	3–1	Levadia	2–1	1–0
BATE	3–0	Valur	2–0	1–0

In the draw for the first qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The lower pot contained the 14 teams from associations 40-53: none of these teams had a team ranking.

Two of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Inter Baku (Azerbaijan, country rank 42) beat Rabotnički (Macedonia, 36); and BATE (Belarus, 40) beat Valur (Iceland, 37).

Of the 28 teams in the first qualifying round, two would survive as far as the group stage: Anorthosis and BATE. Each then finished in fourth place.

The first leg matches were played on 29 July and 30 July, while the second legs were played on 5 August and 6 August 2008.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Rangers	1–2	Kaunas	0–0	1–2
Brann	(a) 2–2	Ventspils	1–0	1–2
Inter Baku	1–3	Partizan	1–1	0–2
Tampere United	3–7	Artmedia Petržalka	1–3	2–4
Anorthosis	4–3	Rapid Wien	3–0	1–3
Domžale	2–6	Dinamo Zagreb	0–3	2–3
Panathinaikos	3–0	Dinamo Tbilisi	3–0	0–0
IFK Göteborg	3–5	Basel	1–1	2–4
Sheriff Tiraspol	0–3	Sparta Prague	0–1	0–2
Drogheda United	3–4	Dynamo Kyiv	1–2[B]	2–2
Anderlecht	3–4	BATE	1–2	2–2
Beitar Jerusalem	2–6	Wisła Kraków	2–1	0–5
Fenerbahçe	7–0	MTK Hungária	2–0	5–0
Aalborg BK	7–1	Modriča	5–0	2–1

In the draw for the second qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 166 or higher: so each tie contained exactly one team ranked in the top 166.

Three of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Kaunas (unranked, coefficient 2.640) beat Rangers (ranked 24, coefficient 66.013); BATE (unranked, 1.760) beat Anderlecht (56, 41.810); and Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Rapid Wien (ranked 166).

Of the 28 teams in the second qualifying round, Panathinaikos were the only one to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.

The draw for the third qualifying round took place on 1 August 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland.^[6] The first leg matches were played on 12 August and 13 August, while the second leg matches took place on 26 August and 27 August. The losing team of each match are being seeded into the UEFA Cup 2008-09 first round; while the winning teams advance into the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 group stage.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Anorthosis	3–1	Olympiacos	3–0	0–1
Vitória Guimarães	1–2	Basel	0–0	1–2
Shakhtar Donetsk	5–1	Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	3–1
Schalke 04	1–4	Atlético Madrid	1–0	0–4
Aalborg BK	4–0	Kaunas	2–0	2–0
Barcelona	4–1	Wisła Kraków	4–0	0–1
Levski Sofia	1–2	BATE	0–1	1–1
Standard Liège	0–1	Liverpool	0–0	0–1 (aet)
Partizan	3–4	Fenerbahçe	2–2	1–2
Twente	0–6	Arsenal	0–2	0–4
Spartak Moscow	2–8	Dynamo Kyiv	1–4	1–4
Juventus	5–1	Artmedia Petržalka	4–0	1–1
Brann	1–3	Marseille	0–1	1–2
Fiorentina	2–0	Slavia Prague	2–0	0–0
Galatasaray	2–3	Steaua	2–2	0–1
Sparta Prague	1–3[C]	Panathinaikos	1–2	0–1

In the draw for the third qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 61 or higher. However, the draw was held before the second qualifying round was played, which meant that Kaunas and BATE effectively moved into the higher pot, replacing the teams they eliminated.

Four of the 16 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Olympiacos (ranked 44); BATE (unranked, coefficient 1.760) beat Levski Sofia (ranked 80, coefficient 32.644); Atlético Madrid (ranked 67) beat Schalke 04 (ranked 22) and Dynamo Kyiv (ranked 74) beat Spartak Moscow (ranked 61).

The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August 2008 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, prior to the 2008 UEFA Super Cup the following day.^[7]

Based on paragraph 6.05 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:

1. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
2. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
3. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
4. superior goal difference from all group matches played;
5. higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Roma 6 4 0 2 12 6 +6 12 Chelsea 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 11 Bordeaux 6 2 1 3 5 11 −6 7 CFR Cluj 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4

BDX CLU CHL ROM Bordeaux – 1–0 1–1 1–3 CFR Cluj 1–2 – 0–0 1–3 Chelsea 4–0 2–1 – 1–0 Roma 2–0 1–2 3–1 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Panathinaikos 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 Internazionale 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 Werder Bremen 6 1 4 1 7 9 −2 7 Anorthosis 6 1 3 2 8 8 0 6

ANO INT PAN BRM Anorthosis – 3–3 3–1 2–2 Internazionale 1–0 – 0–1 1–1 Panathinaikos 1–0 0–2 – 2–2 Werder Bremen 0–0 2–1 0–3 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Barcelona 6 4 1 1 18 8 +10 13 Sporting CP 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 12 Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 Basel 6 0 1 5 2 16 −14 1

BAR BSL SHK SCP Barcelona – 1–1 2–3 3–1 Basel 0–5 – 1–2 0–1 Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2 5–0 – 0–1 Sporting CP 2–5 2–0 1–0 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Liverpool 6 4 2 0 11 5 +6 14 Atlético Madrid 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12 Marseille 6 1 1 4 5 7 −2 4 PSV Eindhoven 6 1 0 5 5 14 −9 3

ATL LIV MAR PSV Atlético Madrid – 1–1 2–1 2–1 Liverpool 1–1 – 1–0 3–1 Marseille 0–0 1–2 – 3–0 PSV Eindhoven 0–3 1–3 2–0 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Manchester United 6 2 4 0 9 3 +6 10 Villarreal 6 2 3 1 9 7 +2 9 Aalborg BK 6 1 3 2 9 14 −5 6 Celtic 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5

AAB CEL MU VIL Aalborg BK – 2–1 0–3 2–2 Celtic 0–0 – 1–1 2–0 Manchester United 2–2 3–0 – 0–0 Villarreal 6–3 1–0 0–0 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Bayern Munich 6 4 2 0 12 4 +8 14 Lyon 6 3 2 1 14 10 +4 11 Fiorentina 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Steaua 6 0 1 5 3 12 −9 1

BAY FIO LYO STE Bayern Munich – 3–0 1–1 3–0 Fiorentina 1–1 – 1–2 0–0 Lyon 2–3 2–2 – 2–0 Steaua 0–1 0–1 3–5 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Porto 6 4 0 2 9 8 +1 12 Arsenal 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11 Dynamo Kyiv 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8 Fenerbahçe 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2

ARS DYN FEN POR Arsenal – 1–0 0–0 4–0 Dynamo Kyiv 1–1 – 1–0 1–2 Fenerbahçe 2–5 0–0 – 1–2 Porto 2–0 0–1 3–1 –

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Juventus 6 3 3 0 7 3 +4 12 Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 Zenit St. Petersburg 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 BATE 6 0 3 3 3 8 −5 3

BAT JUV RM ZNT BATE – 2–2 0–1 0–2 Juventus 0–0 – 2–1 1–0 Real Madrid 2–0 0–2 – 3–0 Zenit St. Petersburg 1–1 0–0 1–2 –

From the first knockout round through to the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home and away basis with the same rules as the qualifying rounds applied. In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation. For the draw of the quarter-finals and semi-finals clubs are seeded based on the results in the group and first knockout stage of the current season (eight matches).

The draw for the first knockout round was held on Friday, 19 December 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA's director of professional football and Bruno Conti, the ambassador for the final in Rome.

The draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were both held on Friday, 20 March 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by David Taylor and Bruno Conti. Unlike the first knockout round, teams from the same group or country may be drawn together from the quarter-finals onwards.

Template:CLBracket

The first legs of the first knockout round were played on 24 and 25 February 2009, and the second legs were played on 10 and 11 March.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Chelsea	3–2	Juventus	1–0	2–2
Villarreal	3–2	Panathinaikos	1–1	2–1
Sporting CP	1–12	Bayern Munich	0–5	1–7
Atlético Madrid	2–2 (a)	Porto	2–2	0–0
Lyon	3–6	Barcelona	1–1	2–5
Real Madrid	0–5	Liverpool	0–1	0–4
Arsenal	1–1 (7–6 p)	Roma	1–0	0–1 (aet)
Internazionale	0–2	Manchester United	0–0	0–2

The first leg matches were played on 7 April and 8 April, with the second leg matches being played on 14 April and 15 April 2009. Due to the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough Disaster, Liverpool were granted their request that their return leg not be played on 15 April; the match was played on 14 April.^[8]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Villarreal	1–4	Arsenal	1–1	0–3
Manchester United	3–2	Porto	2–2	1–0
Liverpool	5–7	Chelsea	1–3	4–4
Barcelona	5–1	Bayern Munich	4–0	1–1

The first leg matches will be played on 28 April and 29 April, while the second leg matches will be played on 5 May and 6 May 2009. As in 2007–08, the semi-final teams consisted of three Premier League sides and Barcelona. This is the third consecutive season in which three of the four semi-final teams are English.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Manchester United	4–1	Arsenal	1–0	3–1
Barcelona	2	Chelsea	0–0	6 May

The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final will be played on 27 May 2009 at 20:35CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. For the fifth straight year, at least one of the finalists is an English team. Manchester United are the first defending champions to reach the final of the competition since Juventus in 1997.

27 May 2009

20:45

Winners of semi-final 2	v	Manchester United

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

The top scorers from the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds) are as follows:

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Time played	Minutes per goal
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	8	788'32"	98'34"
2	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	7	580'36"	82'57"
	Miroslav Klose	Bayern Munich	7	680'07"	97'10"
4	Lisandro López	Porto	6	943'11"	157'12"
5	Emmanuel Adebayor	Arsenal	5	534'12"	106'50"
	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	5	627'49"	125'34"
	Thierry Henry	Barcelona	5	645'41"	129'08"
	Alessandro Del Piero	Juventus	5	688'14"	137'39"
	Karim Benzema	Lyon	5	731'13"	146'15"

Bold indicates a player whose club is still active in the competition.

• Source: Top Scorers - Semi-Final 2nd leg - Tuesday 5 May 2009 - (after matches) (accessed 5 May 2009)

• Bayern Munich defeated Sporting CP by 12–1 on aggregate in the first knockout round, being the biggest two-leg win in Champions League era.
• Manchester United's 2–0 victory against Internazionale in the first knockout round was their 21st consecutive undefeated match, a record surpassing Ajax's 20 undefeated matches, set between 1985–86 and 1995–96. Manchester United's record is ongoing with 25 straight undefeated matches, after reaching the final with a 3–1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

• As in the last four years (since 2005), at least one English team will reach the final. As in the 2007–08 tournament, the semi-final teams consisted of three English teams and Barcelona. It is the third consecutive season that there has been three English teams in the semi-final stage. For the second consecutive year, four English teams reached the quarter-final stage. Arsenal are this season's only semi-finalists that did not qualify for the semi-finals in 2007–08, replacing Liverpool.
• Liverpool and Chelsea played each other in the quarter-finals, making the match the fifth time in five years that the two teams have been drawn together in the Champions League.
• Barcelona and Chelsea will play each other in the semi-finals, making the match the fourth time in five years that the two teams have been drawn together in the Champions League.
• Manchester United are the first defending champions to reach the semi-finals since the introduction of the first knockout round in the 2003–04 season, and the first reigning champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.

• Cyprus' Anorthosis and BATE of Belarus were the first ever teams from their countries to qualify for the group stage.
• The Romanian side CFR Cluj and Russian champions Zenit also made their debut in the Champions League.
• Arsenal became the first side in the Champions league era to win a penalty shootout in a knockout round, advance to the next stage, and win their next tie.
• Porto's 0–1 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the quarter-finals was the club's first ever home defeat to English opposition.
• Arsenal's 1–3 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals was the club's first ever defeat at Emirates Stadium in European competition.

• UEFA Cup 2008–09
• UEFA Intertoto Cup 2008

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