The 2021–22 UEFA Youth League was the eighth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...

2021–22 UEFA Youth League

The Colovray Stadium in Nyon hosted the semi-finals and final.
Tournament details
Dates	14 September 2021 – 25 April 2022
Teams	64 (from 39 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Benfica (1st title)
Runners-up	Red Bull Salzburg
Tournament statistics
Matches played	167
Goals scored	571 (3.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mads Hansen (Midtjylland) Aral Simsir (Midtjylland) Roko Šimić (Red Bull Salzburg) (7 goals each)
← 2019–20 ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

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Real Madrid, having won the title in 2019–20, were the title holders, since the 2020–21 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the title was not awarded. They were eliminated by city rivals Atlético Madrid in the round of 16.

Portuguese side Benfica won their first title, beating Red Bull Salzburg 6–0 in the final. This was a replay of the 2017 final, won by Salzburg by 2–1. It was also Benfica's first title in European football since the 1961–62 European Cup. In August, Benfica played the inaugural Under-20 Intercontinental Cup, beating the CONMEBOL champions, Peñarol, 1–0.

A total of 64 teams from at least 32 of the 55 UEFA member associations may enter the tournament. They are split into two sections, each with 32 teams.

• UEFA Champions League Path: The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path. If there was a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it was filled by a team defined by UEFA.
• Domestic Champions Path: The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2021 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path.^[1] If there was a vacancy (associations with no youth domestic competition, as well as youth domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path), it was first filled by the title holders should they have not yet qualified, and then by the youth domestic champions of the next association in the UEFA ranking.

Akademia e Futbollit, Angers, Deportivo La Coruña, Daugavpils, Empoli, Hajduk Split, 1. FC Köln, Miercurea Ciuc, Pogoń Szczecin, St Patrick's Athletic, Trabzonspor, Žalgiris and Zvijezda 09 will make their tournament debuts. Lithuania will be represented for the first time.^[2]

More information Rank, Association ...

Qualified teams for 2021–22 UEFA Youth League^[2]

Rank	Association	Teams
		UEFA Champions League Path	Domestic Champions Path
1	England	Manchester City[YC] (2020–21 U18 Premier League)[3] Manchester United Liverpool Chelsea
2	Spain	Atlético Madrid Real Madrid[TH] Barcelona Sevilla Villarreal	Deportivo La Coruña (2020–21 División de Honor Juvenil U-19)[4]
3	Germany	Bayern Munich RB Leipzig Borussia Dortmund VfL Wolfsburg	1. FC Köln (2019–20 U19 A-Junioren-Bundesliga)[Note GER]
4	Italy	Inter Milan Milan Atalanta Juventus	Empoli (2020–21 Campionato Primavera 1)[5]
5	France	Lille Paris Saint-Germain	Angers (2019–20 Championnat National U19)[Note FRA]
6	Portugal	Sporting CP Porto Benfica[PO][YC] (2019–20 Campeonato Nacional Juniores S19)[Note POR]
7	Russia	Zenit Saint Petersburg[YC] (2020–21 Russian Youth Football League U17)[6]
8	Belgium	Club Brugge	Genk (2019–20 Belgian U18 League)[Note BEL]
9	Ukraine	Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk[PO][YC] (2020–21 Ukrainian U19 League)[7]
10	Netherlands	Ajax	AZ (2019–20 Eredivisie U19)[Note NED]
11	Turkey	Beşiktaş	Trabzonspor (2020–21 U19 Elit)[8]
12	Austria	Red Bull Salzburg[PO][YC] (2020–21 Jugendliga U18)[9]
13	Denmark		Midtjylland (2020–21 U19 Ligaen)
14	Scotland		Rangers (2020–21 Scottish U18 League)
15	Czech Republic		Sparta Prague (2020–21 Czech U19 League)
16	Cyprus		APOEL (2020–21 Cypriot U19 League)
17	Switzerland	Young Boys[PO][YC] (2020–21 Swiss U18 League)
18	Greece		PAOK (2020–21 Superleague K19)
19	Serbia		Red Star Belgrade (2020–21 Serbian U19 League)
20	Croatia		Hajduk Split (2020–21 1. HNL Juniori U19)
21	Sweden	Malmö[PO]	Hammarby IF (2020 P17 Allsvenskan)
22	Norway		Rosenborg (2020 Norwegian U19 Cup)
23	Israel		Maccabi Haifa (2020–21 Israeli U19 Noar Premier League)
24	Kazakhstan		Kairat (2020 Kazakhstani U17 League)
25	Belarus		Minsk (2020 Belarusian U18 League)
26	Azerbaijan		Gabala (2020–21 Azerbaijani U19 League)
27	Bulgaria		Septemvri Sofia (2020–21 U18 BFU Cup)
28	Romania		Miercurea Ciuc (2020–21 Liga Elitelor U19)
29	Poland		Pogoń Szczecin (2020–21 Polish U18 Central Junior League)
30	Slovakia		Žilina (2020–21 Slovak U19 League)
32	Slovenia		Domžale (2020–21 Slovenian U19 League)
33	Hungary		MTK Budapest[V-LIE] (2020–21 Hungarian U19 League)
35	Lithuania		Žalgiris[V-YC] (2020 Lithuanian Elite Youth League U19 Division)
37	Latvia		Daugavpils[V-YC] (2020 Latvian U18 League)
38	Albania		Akademia e Futbollit[V-PO] (2020–21 Albanian U19 League)
39	North Macedonia		Shkëndija[V-PO] (2020–21 Macedonian U19 League)
40	Bosnia and Herzegovina		Zvijezda 09[V-PO] (2020–21 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 Junior League)
41	Moldova	Sheriff Tiraspol[PO][YC] (2020–21 Divizia Națională U19)
42	Republic of Ireland		St Patrick's Athletic[V-PO] (2020 League of Ireland U19 Division)[10]

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More information Rank, Association ...

Associations without any participating teams
(no teams qualify for UEFA Champions League group stage, and either with no youth domestic competition or not ranked high enough for a vacancy)

Rank Association 31  Liechtenstein 34  Luxembourg 36  Armenia 43  Finland 44  Georgia 45  Malta

Rank Association 46  Iceland 47  Wales 48  Northern Ireland 49  Gibraltar 50  Montenegro

Rank Association 51  Estonia 52  Kosovo 53  Faroe Islands 54  Andorra 55  San Marino

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Notes

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).^[2]

• For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams play their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled for UEFA Champions League, and on the same day as the corresponding senior teams; however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays.
• For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches are played on Wednesdays (first round on matchdays 2 and 3, second round on matchdays 4 and 5, as scheduled for UEFA Champions League); however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 26 August 2021, 18:00 CEST (19:00 TRT), in Istanbul, Turkey.^[15]

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners advance to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advance to the play-offs, where they will join by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path.

Group A

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PSG	BRU	MCI	LPZ
1	Paris Saint-Germain	6	4	2	0	16	7	+9	14	Round of 16		—	3–2	1–1	3–0
2	Club Brugge	6	3	2	1	18	11	+7	11	Play-offs		2–2	—	1–1	4–1
3	Manchester City	6	2	2	2	12	11	+1	8			1–3	3–5	—	5–1
4	RB Leipzig	6	0	0	6	4	21	−17	0			1–4	1–4	0–1	—

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Source: UEFA

Group B

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LIV	ATM	POR	MIL
1	Liverpool	6	3	2	1	9	4	+5	11	Round of 16		—	2–0	4–0	1–0
2	Atlético Madrid	6	3	1	2	9	6	+3	10[lower-alpha 1]	Play-offs		2–0	—	1–2	3–0
3	Porto	6	3	1	2	8	9	−1	10[lower-alpha 1]			1–1	1–2	—	3–1
4	Milan	6	0	2	4	3	10	−7	2			1–1	1–1	0–1	—

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Source: UEFA
Notes:

1. Head-to-head: Atlético Madrid 3 pts (0 GD, 3 GF), Porto 3 pts (0 GD, 3 GF). Goal difference in all group matches: Atlético Madrid +3, Porto –1.

Group C

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SPO	DOR	AJX	BES
1	Sporting CP	6	3	2	1	11	8	+3	11	Round of 16		—	3–2	1–1	1–2
2	Borussia Dortmund	6	3	1	2	16	9	+7	10[lower-alpha 1]	Play-offs		0–0	—	0–1	6–2
3	Ajax	6	3	1	2	9	10	−1	10[lower-alpha 1]			2–3	1–5	—	3–1
4	Beşiktaş	6	1	0	5	8	17	−9	3			1–3	2–3	0–1	—

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Source: UEFA
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Borussia Dortmund 3, Ajax 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Borussia Dortmund +3, Ajax –3.

Group D

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RMA	INT	SHK	SHE
1	Real Madrid	6	4	1	1	11	6	+5	13[lower-alpha 1]	Round of 16		—	2–1	1–0	4–1
2	Inter Milan	6	4	1	1	10	6	+4	13[lower-alpha 1]	Play-offs		1–1	—	1–0	2–1
3	Shakhtar Donetsk	6	3	0	3	14	5	+9	9			3–2	0–1	—	6–0
4	Sheriff Tiraspol	6	0	0	6	4	22	−18	0			0–1	2–4	0–5	—

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Source: UEFA
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Real Madrid 4, Inter Milan 1.

Group E

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		BEN	DKV	BAR	BAY
1	Benfica	6	5	0	1	14	4	+10	15	Round of 16		—	1–0	4–0	4–0
2	Dynamo Kyiv	6	4	1	1	14	3	+11	13	Play-offs		4–0	—	4–1	2–1
3	Barcelona	6	1	1	4	4	14	−10	4			0–3	0–0	—	2–0
4	Bayern Munich	6	1	0	5	4	15	−11	3			0–2	0–4	3–2	—

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Source: UEFA

Group F

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MUN	VIL	ATA	YB
1	Manchester United	6	5	0	1	12	9	+3	15	Round of 16		—	1–4	4–2	2–1
2	Villarreal	6	3	2	1	15	9	+6	11	Play-offs		1–2	—	2–0	3–3
3	Atalanta	6	2	1	3	11	12	−1	7			1–2	2–2	—	3–0
4	Young Boys	6	0	1	5	7	15	−8	1			0–1	1–3	2–3	—

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Source: UEFA

Group G

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SLZ	SEV	LIL	WOL
1	Red Bull Salzburg	6	4	0	2	10	5	+5	12	Round of 16		—	2–0	3–1	3–0
2	Sevilla	6	3	2	1	8	3	+5	11	Play-offs		2–0	—	0–0	2–0
3	Lille	6	3	1	2	7	6	+1	10			1–0	0–3	—	2–0
4	VfL Wolfsburg	6	0	1	5	2	13	−11	1			1–2	1–1	0–3	—

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Source: UEFA

Group H

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JUV	CHE	ZEN	MAL
1	Juventus	6	5	1	0	18	7	+11	16	Round of 16		—	3–1	4–2	4–1
2	Chelsea	6	3	1	2	15	10	+5	10	Play-offs		1–3	—	3–1	4–2
3	Zenit Saint Petersburg	6	2	1	3	10	13	−3	7			0–2	1–1	—	3–2
4	Malmö	6	0	1	5	8	21	−13	1			2–2	0–5	1–3	—

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Source: UEFA

For the Domestic Champions Path, the 32 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw for both the first round and second round was held on 31 August 2021.

The eight second round winners advance to the play-offs, where they will join by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path (group stage).

First round

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Pogoń Szczecin	3–4	Deportivo La Coruña	3–0	0–4
MTK Budapest	6–4	Sparta Prague	3–1	3–3
PAOK	1–7	Žilina	1–5	0–2
Shkëndija	1–5	Hajduk Split	0–2	1–3
Daugavpils	0–6	Minsk	0–4	0–2
APOEL	1–2	Kairat	1–1	0–1
Žalgiris	0–5	Maccabi Haifa	0–3	0–2
1. FC Köln	3–7	Genk	2–4	1–3
Septemvri Sofia	4–1	Akademia e Futbollit	3–0	1–1
Zvijezda 09	0–3	Trabzonspor	0–1	0–2
Domžale	2–3	Empoli	1–2	1–1
Gabala	0–11	AZ	0–4	0–7
Miercurea Ciuc	0–5	Angers	0–2	0–3
Rangers	5–1	Hammarby IF	3–0	2–1
Rosenborg	3–14	Midtjylland	2–4	1–10
St Patrick's Athletic	1–4	Red Star Belgrade	1–2	0–2

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Second round

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Hajduk Split	4–1	Minsk	3–0	1–1
MTK Budapest	1–3	Genk	1–2	0–1
Deportivo La Coruña	5–4	Maccabi Haifa	5–1	0–3
Žilina	3–3 (3–0 p)	Kairat	3–2	0–1
Red Star Belgrade	1–6	Empoli	1–1	0–5
Trabzonspor	2–10	Midtjylland	2–5	0–5
Angers	1–1 (4–5 p)	AZ	0–1	1–0
Septemvri Sofia	2–7[upper-alpha 1]	Rangers	2–4	0–3

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Notes

1. Order of legs reversed after original draw.

The UEFA champions, Benfica, played against the CONMEBOL champion, Peñarol, for the new U-20 Intercontinental Cup, a youth team equivalent to the former Intercontinental Cup, which featured the senior club champions of Europe and South America. Benfica won 1–0.