2017–18 UEFA Champions League#First qualifying round

79 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations participated (the exception being Liechtenstein, which did not organise a domestic league).{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2359883.html|title=Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA|publisher=UEFA|date=3 May 2016|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916135356/http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2359883.html|url-status=dead}} The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/46/71/38/2467138_DOWNLOAD.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519110901/http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/46/71/38/2467138_DOWNLOAD.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 19, 2017|title=Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2017/18 Season|publisher=UEFA|date=4 April 2017}}

• Associations 1–3 each had four teams qualify.
• Associations 4–6 each had three teams qualify.
• Associations 7–15 each had two teams qualify.
• Associations 16–55 (except Liechtenstein) each had one team qualify.
• The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League were each given an additional entry if they did not qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league. Because a maximum of five teams from one association could enter the Champions League, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders were from the same top three ranked association and finished outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth-placed team of their association was moved to the Europa League.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150309085551/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 9, 2015|title=How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League|publisher=UEFA|date=27 February 2015}} For this season:
• The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, qualified through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Champions League title holders was not necessary.
• The winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Manchester United, did not qualify through their domestic league, meaning the additional entry for the Europa League title holders was necessary.

Kosovo, who became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, made their debut in the UEFA Champions League.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2365958.html|title=Timeline for UEFA Presidential elections decided|publisher=UEFA|date=18 May 2016|access-date=21 December 2016|archive-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722145008/http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2365958.html|url-status=dead}}

For the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2016 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/season=2016/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140831002021/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/season=2016/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 31, 2014|title=Country coefficients 2015/16|publisher=UEFA}}{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/data/method4/crank2016.html|title=UEFA Country Ranking 2016|publisher=Bert Kassies |access-date=28 May 2016}}

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

• {{small|(UEL)}} – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders

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In the default access list, the Champions League title holders entered the group stage.{{cite web|url=http://kassiesa.net/uefafiles/2017-18-uefa-access-list.pdf|title=Preliminary Access List 2017/18|publisher=RFEF|website=Bert Kassies}} However, since Real Madrid already qualified for the group stage (as the champions of the 2016–17 La Liga), the Champions League title holders berth in the group stage was given to the Europa League title holders, Manchester United.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0250-0c51194dcb5a-ee474cb68dd1-1000--the-2017-18-champions-league-and-europa-league-access-list/|title=The 2017/18 Champions League and Europa League access list|publisher=UEFA|date=26 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://kassiesa.net/uefafiles/2015-18-uefa-access-list-explanations.pdf|title=UEFA Access List 2015/18 with explanations|publisher=Bert Kassies}}{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/access2017.html|title=Access list 2017/2018|publisher=Bert Kassies|access-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602084031/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/access2017.html|archive-date=2 June 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0239-0e970bbed2d3-a98a31fc7d8f-1000--europa-league-win-earns-manchester-united-a-champions-league/|title=Europa League win earns Manchester United a Champions League spot|publisher=UEFA|date=24 May 2017}} and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:

• The third-placed teams of associations 4 (Italy) and 5 (Portugal) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.

League positions of the previous season qualified via league position shown in parentheses. Manchester United qualified as Europa League title holders. (TH: Champions League title holders; EL: Europa League title holders).{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/qual2017.html|title=Qualification for European Cup Football 2017/2018|publisher=Bert Kassies|access-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602083314/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/qual2017.html|archive-date=2 June 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0250-0c5117dac8d4-0d3d56c80225-1000--who-is-in-this-season-s-uefa-champions-league/|title=Who is in this season's UEFA Champions League?|publisher=UEFA|date=13 July 2017}}

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/calendar2017.html|title=UEFA European Football Calendar 2017/2018|publisher=Bert Kassies|access-date=2016-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818080956/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/calendar2017.html|archive-date=2017-08-18|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0250-0c5117daea26-8226d4edcd7f-1000--2017-18-champions-league-match-and-draw-calendar/|title=2017/18 Champions League match and draw calendar|publisher=UEFA|date=11 January 2017}}

{{main|2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round|l1=2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase}}

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients,{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/club/season=2017/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417110032/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/club/season=2017/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 17, 2016|title=Club coefficients 2016/17|publisher=UEFA}}{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/data/method4/trank2017.html|title=UEFA Team Ranking 2017|publisher=Bert Kassies}}{{cite web|url=https://kassiesa.net/uefa/seedcl2017.html|title=Seeding in the Champions League 2017/2018|publisher=Bert Kassies|access-date=8 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424210628/http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/seedcl2017.html|archive-date=24 April 2017|url-status=dead}} and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round|Q1}}

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round|Q2}}

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round|Q3}}

{{main|2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round#Play-off round|l1=2017–18 UEFA Champions League play-off round}}

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage.

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round|PO}}

{{main|2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage}}

{{Location map+ |Europe |width=600 |float=right |caption=Location of teams of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage.
8px Brown: Group A; 8px Red: Group B; 8px Orange: Group C; 8px Yellow: Group D;
8px Green: Group E; 8px Blue: Group F; 8px Purple: Group G; 8px Pink: Group H.

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{{Location map~|Europe|lat=40.15301|long=47.16202|label_size=80|label=Qarabağ|mark=Orange pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=50.83419|long=4.29836|label_size=80|label=Anderlecht|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=35.11454|long=33.36286|label_size=80|label=APOEL|mark=Pink pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=51.507222|long=-0.1275|label_size=80|label=London|mark=Black pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=53.466667|long=-2.233333|label_size=80|label=Manchester|mark=Black pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=53.43082|long=-2.96083|label_size=80|label=Liverpool|mark=Green pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=43.72761|long=7.41561|label_size=80|label=Monaco|mark=Purple pog.svg|position=bottom }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=48.84139|long=2.25306|label_size=80|label=PSG|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=48.21878|long=11.62475|label_size=80|label=Bayern|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=51.49257|long=7.45184|label_size=80|label=Dortmund|mark=Pink pog.svg|position=bottom }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=51.34579|long=12.34822|label_size=80|label=Leipzig|mark=Purple pog.svg|position=top }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=37.94645|long=23.66432|label_size=80|label=Olympiacos|mark=Yellow pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=45.10944|long=7.64111|label_size=80|label=Juventus|mark=Yellow pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=40.82797|long=14.19301|label_size=80|label=Napoli|mark=Blue pog.svg|position=bottom }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=41.82872|long=12.42547|label_size=80|label=Roma|mark=Orange pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=51.89389|long=4.52325|label_size=80|label=Feyenoord|mark=Blue pog.svg|position=top }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=38.713889|long=-9.139444|label_size=80|label=Lisbon|mark=Black pog.svg|position=top }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=41.16176|long=-8.58393|label_size=80|label=Porto|mark=Purple pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=55.75|long=37.616667|label_size=80|label=Moscow|mark=Black pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=55.84971|long=-4.20559|label_size=80|label=Celtic|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=46.5624|long=15.6405|label_size=80|label=Maribor|mark=Green pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=40.383333|long=-3.716667|label_size=80|label=Madrid|mark=Black pog.svg|position=top }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=41.38087|long=2.1228|label_size=80|label=Barcelona|mark=Yellow pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=37.384|long=-5.9705|label_size=80|label=Sevilla|mark=Green pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=47.54158|long=7.62018|label_size=80|label=Basel|mark=Brown pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=41.03921|long=28.99474|label_size=80|label=Beşiktaş|mark=Purple pog.svg|position=right }}

{{Location map~|Europe|lat=48.02083|long=37.80972|label_size=80|label=Shakhtar|mark=Blue pog.svg|position=left }}

{{Location map~ |Europe |mark=TransparentPlaceholder.png |marksize=1 |lat=65 |long=55 |label_size=75 |label=

{{nowrap|Lisbon teams}}

{{nowrap|8px Benfica

8px Sporting CP}}

{{nowrap|London teams}}

{{nowrap|8px Chelsea

8px Tottenham Hotspur}}

{{nowrap|Madrid teams}}

{{nowrap|8px Atlético Madrid

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{{nowrap|Manchester teams}}

{{nowrap|8px Manchester City

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{{nowrap|Moscow teams}}

{{nowrap|8px CSKA Moscow

8px Spartak Moscow}}

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}}

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 August 2017, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/2018/2000881/|title=Group stage draw|publisher=UEFA}} The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on the following principles (introduced starting 2015–16 season):{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29562047|title=Champions League: Domestic title winners to receive top-seed status|publisher=BBC Sport|date=9 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0220-0e15f38d3608-4437365f0e2f-1000--champions-bonus-for-group-stage-draw/|title=Champions' bonus for group stage draw|publisher=UEFA|date=24 April 2015}}

• Pot 1 contained the title holders and the champions of the top seven associations based on their 2016 UEFA country coefficients. As the title holders, Real Madrid, were one of the champions of the top seven associations, the champions of the association ranked eighth (Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk) were also seeded into Pot 1 (regulations Article 13.05).
• Pot 2, 3 and 4 contained the remaining teams, seeded based on their 2017 UEFA club coefficients.

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League round of 32. The matchdays were 12–13 September, 26–27 September, 17–18 October, 31 October – 1 November, 21–22 November, and 5–6 December 2017.

The youth teams of the clubs that qualified for the group stage also participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Youth League on the same matchdays, where they competed in the UEFA Champions League Path (the youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations competed in a separate Domestic Champions Path until the play-offs).

Seventeen national associations were represented in the group stage. Qarabağ and RB Leipzig made their debut appearances in the group stage. Qarabağ were the first team from Azerbaijan to play in the Champions League group stage.{{cite web |title=Champions League group stage number crunching |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/023c-0e97a874e519-17513ccfa616-1000--champions-league-group-stage-number-crunching/ |website=UEFA.org |publisher=Union of European Football Associations |date=24 August 2017 }} For the first time since the 1997–98 edition, England's Arsenal did not qualify for the group stage.

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group A|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group B|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group C|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group D|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group E|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group F|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group G|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{:2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage|transcludesection=Group H|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{main|2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase}}

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

• In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association could not be drawn against each other.
• In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other.

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase|bracket}}

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase|R16}}

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase|QF}}

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase|SF}}

{{#lst:2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase|Final}}

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

File:Ronaldo in 2018.jpg's Cristiano Ronaldo finished the tournament as the top goalscorer, having scored 15 goals.]]

The UEFA technical study group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0253-0d8222ae4584-fc81fa8bf4d6-1000--uefa-champions-league-squad-of-the-season/|title=UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season|website=UEFA|publisher=Union of European Football Associations|date=27 May 2018}}

{{main|UEFA Club Football Awards|UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award}}

Votes were cast for players of the season by coaches of the 32 teams in the group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA's member associations. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. Jury members selected their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The shortlist of the top three players were announced on 9 August 2018.{{cite web|title=Champions League positional awards: nominees announced|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0248-0e98f378335e-6c375cf6e165-1000--champions-league-positional-awards-nominees-announced/|website=UEFA|publisher=Union of European Football Associations|access-date=9 August 2018|language=en|date=9 August 2018}} The award winners were announced and presented during the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on 30 August 2018.

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• 2017–18 UEFA Europa League
• 2018 UEFA Super Cup
• 2018 FIFA Club World Cup
• 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League
• 2017–18 UEFA Youth League

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ UEFA Champions League] (official website)
• [http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/season=2018/index.html UEFA Champions League history: 2017/18]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{UEFA Champions League seasons}}

{{2017–18 in European football (UEFA)}}

{{2017–18 European club competitions}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 UEFA Champions League}}

Category:UEFA Champions League seasons

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