No—the away goals rule does not apply in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League. If two teams score the same total number of goals across a two-legged knockout tie, the second leg goes to extra time and, if the aggregate score remains level, a penalty shootout.
It does not matter which team scored more goals away from home.
What happens when the aggregate score is level?
UEFA's current rule is straightforward:
- Add the scores from both legs together.
- If one club has scored more goals overall, that club advances.
- If the aggregate score is level, play two 15-minute periods of extra time after the second leg.
- If the teams are still level, decide the tie with a penalty shootout.
For example, imagine Team A wins the first leg 2-1 at home and Team B wins the return match 1-0. The aggregate score is 2-2. Under the old rule, Team A's away goal in the second leg could once have separated the clubs. Under the 2026/27 rules, neither side advances on away goals; the second leg continues to extra time.
When did UEFA abolish the away goals rule?
UEFA removed the rule from all of its club competitions beginning with the 2021/22 season. Before that change, away goals were used as a tiebreaker when the aggregate score was level after two legs.
The old system was originally intended to encourage visiting teams to attack. UEFA concluded that home advantage had become less significant and that the rule could discourage the home side from attacking in a first leg or during extra time.
Does the rule matter in the league phase?
No. Away goals are not used to decide individual league-phase matches because every match is a single fixture, not one half of a two-legged tie.
However, away goals scored can appear much later in the league-phase standings tiebreaker order if clubs finish level on points. That is a table-ranking criterion, not the abolished knockout away-goals rule. The two ideas are easy to confuse but work differently.
Which Champions League rounds use two legs?
The knockout-phase play-offs, round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are played over two legs. The final is a single match, so a level final goes to extra time and then penalties if necessary.
The 2026/27 league phase begins on September 8 and the knockout-phase play-offs start in February 2027. The final is scheduled for June 5, 2027 in Madrid.
Quick answer
- Away goals rule in Champions League 2026/27: No
- Level after two legs: Extra time
- Still level after extra time: Penalty shootout
- More away goals scored: Does not decide the knockout tie
UEFA's official 2026/27 Champions League regulations set out the current knockout procedure. For related guidance, read our Champions League league-phase tiebreakers explainer, our league-phase format guide and more football coverage.
