Porto defeated Juventus Turin with away goals in the 2020/21 Champions League
The away goals rule in European club football is to be abolished at the beginning of next season, the umbrella organization Uefa has confirmed.
The rule, which has been in use since 1965, decided to tie two-legged games by favoring the team that scored the most away goals.
Any accumulated draws at the end of the second leg will instead go to extra time and possibly to penalty shoot-outs.
“It is no longer appropriate for an away goal to carry more weight,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
The Uefa Club Competition Committee presented the proposal in May and it has now been approved by the Board’s Executive Committee.
This means that games in the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and Women’s Champions League no longer make use of this rule.
According to Uefa, there is now a smaller gap between the number of home and away wins and home and away goals scored in European competitions compared to the introduction of the rule, which reduces the home advantage.
This is due to a number of factors including pitch quality, improved stadium infrastructure and new technologies such as the video assistant referee.
“The effect of the rule now contradicts its original purpose as it prevents home teams from attacking, especially in the first legs, for fear of conceding a goal that would give their opponent a decisive advantage,” added Ceferin.
“The injustice, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to double goals when the away team has scored is also criticized.
“It is fair to say that the home advantage is no longer as great as it used to be.”
Five famous Champions League away goals in recent years
May 2019: Ajax 2-3 Tottenham (3-3 overall – Tottenham win on away goals)
Lucas Moura is one of only five players to have scored a hat trick in the Champions League semi-finals
Tottenham reached its first Champions League final in May 2019 under the most dramatic circumstances. After Ajax 1-0 in the first leg, Mauricio Pochettino’s team were 2-0 behind at half-time in the second leg in Amsterdam and seemed to be knocked out for sure.
Step forward Lucas Moura, who scored two goals in four minutes of the second half to level the Spurs on the night before taking a winning goal in the 96th minute to complete his hat-trick and take them to the final .
April 2019: Man City 4-3 Tottenham (4-4 total – Tottenham win on away goals)
Fernando Lorente’s goal sent Tottenham through a Champions League / European Cup semi-final for the second time in its history
While Tottenham secured a 1-0 lead in the quarter-final first leg against Manchester City, the two teams shared five goals in a chaotic first 21 minutes of the second leg. Sergio Agüero made it 4-2 on the night and 4-3 in the second half to put Pep Guardiola’s side on track for the last four before Fernando Llorente headed Spurs away with away goals .
To add to the drama, Raheem Sterling saw his injury-time strike be ruled out by the VAR, leaving Guardiola desperate on her knees.
March 2019: Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Man Utd (3-3 overall – Man Utd wins on away goals)
Marcus Rashford had never before scored a penalty in a competitive game for Manchester United before his PSG winner
Manchester United became the first team in Champions League / European Cup history to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 or more in the first leg or more in March 2019.
Marcus Rashford was the hero with a nerveless penalty in the 94th minute, which equaled the draw to 3: 3 and scored away goals for the Red Devils, which probably secured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job permanently.
April 2018: Roma 3-0 Barcelona (4-4 aggregate – Roma win on away goals)
Kostas Manolas’ header brought Roma to the semi-finals of the Champions League / European Cup for the first time since 1984
Another exciting comeback in the second leg, this time from Roma who made up a 4-1 deficit in the first leg to get past Barcelona and advance to the semi-finals.
Defender Kostas Manolas scored the crucial third goal with eight minutes remaining and headed the near post to unleash insane scenes at the Stadio Olimpico.
May 2009: Chelsea 1-1 v Barcelona (1-1 overall – Barcelona win on away goals)
Andres Iniesta’s shot was Barcelona’s first shot on goal and was enough for a place in the final
An added-time goal from Andres Iniesta ruined Michael Essien’s early goal and brought Barcelona past Chelsea on away goals and into the final in 2009, creating full-time chaos at Stamford Bridge.
It was all too much for an angry Didier Drogba, who, frustrated by a series of referee decisions, sparked a verbal tirade against referee Tom Ovrebo after the final whistle, before cursing straight into a television camera as he left the pitch.
