No Champions League away goals rule in 2025: What happens if teams are tied on aggregate goals after second leg?

The away-goals tiebreaker that shaped European knockout football for more than half a century is now a relic of the past, and by 2025 Champions League ties will continue to be settled by the same procedure introduced in 2021: 30 minutes of extra time followed, if required, by a penalty shoot-out.

UEFA’s decision to scrap the rule ahead of the 2021-22 season means that when two sides finish level on aggregate after 180 minutes, the contest is effectively reset. Two 15-minute periods of extra time are played, and if the deadlock persists, spot-kicks decide who advances. Every goal, whether scored at the Bernabéu or at a provincial ground in Wales, carries identical weight.

The first match to be played under the new protocol was a 2021 qualifying tie between Connah’s Quay Nomads and Alashkert. Although Alashkert had scored more away goals, the teams played on into extra time, where the Armenians ultimately prevailed. Since then, the rule change has already produced three high-profile shoot-outs in the 2023-24 edition alone: Arsenal ousted Porto in the Round of 16, Atlético Madrid edged Inter Milan, and eventual champions Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City from the quarter-finals on penalties.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin argued that the old system had begun to discourage attacking play, particularly in first legs, where home teams feared conceding a goal that would hand the visitors a decisive edge. “It now dissuades home teams from attacking,” he said, adding that the rule had run “counter to its original purpose.” The governing body also cited a measurable decline in home advantage across the continent as grounds for reform.

The abolition extends beyond the men’s Champions League. Since 2021, the Europa League, Women’s Champions League, UEFA Youth League, UEFA Super Cup and Europa Conference League have all dispensed with away goals. South America’s Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana followed suit, while North America’s CONCACAF Champions Cup retains the old tiebreaker only from the Round of 16 through to the semi-finals.

For fans, the mathematics of yesteryear—calculating whether a 2-1 deficit is better than a 3-2 lead—has vanished. In 2025, as in every season since the change, the equation is simple: score more goals over two legs, survive 30 extra minutes, or win from the spot.