Champions League Extra Time and Penalty Rules Explained

When a two-legged Champions League tie is level on aggregate after the second 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played before penalties.

A level knockout score can mean three different things: level in the match, level on aggregate or level after extra time. The competition decides advancement from the aggregate across two legs, not from the second-leg score in isolation.

Away goals have no special value, so the location of each goal does not alter the route to extra time.

When extra time begins in a two-legged tie

The referee does not look only at the second-leg score. The two match scores are added. If the aggregate is level at the end of normal time in the second leg, extra time begins at that venue.

There is no requirement that the second leg itself be a draw. A team can win the second match and still enter extra time because it lost the first by the same margin.

How the thirty minutes are played

Extra time consists of two equal periods of 15 minutes, with a short interval and change of ends between them. There is no golden goal. A goal in the first period does not end the tie, and the opponent has the remaining time to respond.

Normal laws concerning added time apply within each extra-time period.

Substitutions and match sheets

UEFA’s competition and match rules determine the number of permitted substitutions and whether an additional replacement is available in extra time. Because those provisions can be updated by edition, teams and readers should check the current Article 56 alongside the Laws of the Game rather than relying on an old tournament memory.

Tactically, coaches often preserve one change for fatigue, injury or a specialist penalty taker.

How the shoot-out works

If aggregate scores remain level after extra time, kicks from the penalty mark decide the tie. The referee conducts the required procedure under the Laws of the Game, including the order of kicks and equalisation of eligible player numbers if one team has more players able to participate.

The shoot-out is a separate method of deciding the winner. Its kicks are not added to a player’s match goal total.

Why the extra-time venue still matters without away goals

The second-leg home side receives thirty additional minutes in its own stadium if the tie is level. Away goals no longer reward the visitor mathematically during that period. The advantage or burden is therefore environmental and tactical rather than an extra goal multiplier.