2017–18 UEFA Europa League facts for kids

{{Infobox international football competition | tourney_name = UEFA Europa League | year = 2017–18 | image = Parc OL.jpg | size = 275 | caption = The Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu hosted the final | dates = Qualifying:
29 June – 24 August 2017
Competition proper:
14 September 2017 – 16 May 2018 | num_teams = Competition proper: 48+8
Total: 157+33 | associations = 55 | champion_other = Atlético Madrid | count = 3 | second_other = Marseille | matches = 205 | goals = 556 | attendance =

The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was a big football tournament for clubs in Europe. It was the 47th time this competition was held. It was also the 9th season since it changed its name from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The final match was played at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Décines-Charpieu, France. In this exciting game, Atlético Madrid from Spain played against Marseille from France. Atlético Madrid won the match, which was their third time winning the Europa League title!

Because they won, Atlético Madrid got to play against Real Madrid. Real Madrid had won the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, which is another big European tournament. This special match was called the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. Atlético Madrid also automatically got a spot in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage. However, they had already qualified for the Champions League through their league games. So, their extra spot went to the third-placed team in the 2017–18 Ligue 1 (the French football league).

Interestingly, Manchester United had won the Europa League the year before. They qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League because of that win. This meant they couldn't defend their Europa League title.

How Teams Qualified for the Tournament

Many teams from different countries in Europe took part in the Europa League. Teams qualified in different ways, usually based on how well they did in their own country's league or cup competitions.

Teams in the Main Stages

Some teams joined the tournament later, in the main stages.

• From the Champions League: Eight teams that finished third in their Champions League groups joined the Europa League in the Round of 32. These included big clubs like Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
• Directly to Group Stage: Other teams qualified directly for the group stage. This was usually for teams that finished high in their national leagues or won their national cups. For example, Arsenal from England qualified by winning the FA Cup.

Teams in the Qualifying Rounds

Many teams had to play in qualifying rounds to earn a spot in the main tournament. These rounds were like early playoffs.

• Play-off Round: Teams that lost in the final qualifying round of the Champions League joined the Europa League here.
• Third Qualifying Round: More teams from national leagues and cup winners started here, like Milan from Italy.
• Second and First Qualifying Rounds: Many teams from smaller leagues or those who finished lower in stronger leagues started in these early rounds. They had to win several matches to reach the group stage.

Some teams had special situations:

• Kosovo (KOS): The team Besa Pejë won their national cup but couldn't get a special license from UEFA. So, the spot went to Prishtina, who finished second in their league.
• Romania (ROU): Two teams, Voluntari and CFR Cluj, couldn't get UEFA licenses. Their spots were given to other teams in the league, Universitatea Craiova and Astra Giurgiu.
• Malta (MLT): Birkirkara also failed to get a UEFA license, so their spot went to Valletta.
• Republic of Ireland (IRL): Derry City is a club from Northern Ireland, but they played in the Europa League through a spot given to the Republic of Ireland. Any points they earned counted for the Republic of Ireland.

Tournament Schedule and Key Dates

The Europa League competition had different stages, each with specific dates for draws and matches. Most draws happened at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Sometimes, matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds were played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. This happened if there were other games scheduled on the usual Thursday match day.

Group Stage Overview

The group stage draw happened on August 25, 2017, in Monaco. Forty-eight teams were divided into twelve groups, with four teams in each group. Teams from the same country could not be in the same group. Teams were put into different "pots" based on their past performance in European competitions.

In the group stage, each team played every other team in their group twice: once at home and once away. The team that finished first and second in each group moved on to the next stage, called the Round of 32. They were also joined by eight teams that finished third in their Champions League groups.

Knockout Phase: The Road to the Final

After the group stage, the tournament moved into the knockout phase. This meant that if a team lost a match, they were out of the competition. Each round involved two games, one at each team's home stadium, except for the final.

Round of 32

This was the first knockout round. The 24 teams that advanced from the group stage were joined by the 8 teams from the Champions League. They played two-leg matches to decide who would move on.

Round of 16

The 16 winners from the Round of 32 played against each other.

Quarter-finals

Only eight teams remained at this stage. The winners of these matches moved closer to the final.

Semi-finals

The final four teams battled it out for a spot in the grand final.

The Grand Final

The final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was played on May 16, 2018. It took place at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in France. Atlético Madrid played against Marseille. Atlético Madrid won the match, becoming the champions!

Key Players and Stats

Here are some interesting facts about the players who did really well in the tournament. These numbers don't include the early qualifying rounds.

Top Goal Scorers

These players scored the most goals in the main competition.

Rank	Player	Team	Goals	Minutes played
1	Ciro Immobile	Lazio	8	582
	Aritz Aduriz	Athletic Bilbao		801
3	Júnior Moraes	Dynamo Kyiv	7	742
4	Mario Balotelli	Nice	6	528
	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid		631
	Aleksandr Kokorin	Zenit Saint Petersburg		698
	André Silva	Milan		722
	Emiliano Rigoni	Zenit Saint Petersburg		775
	Manuel Fernandes	Lokomotiv Moscow		900

Players with the Most Assists

An assist is when a player helps set up a goal for a teammate.

Rank	Player	Team	Assists	Minutes played
1	Dimitri Payet	Marseille	7	811
2	Sergio Canales	Real Sociedad	6	557
3	Luis Alberto	Lazio	5	644
	Stefan Lainer	Red Bull Salzburg		1290

Best Team of the Season

UEFA picked a "Squad of the Season" with the best players from the tournament.

Pos.	Player	Team
GK	Jan Oblak	Atlético Madrid
	Rui Patrício	Sporting CP
DF	Leonardo Bonucci	Milan
	Diego Godín	Atlético Madrid
	Stefan Lainer	Red Bull Salzburg
	Luiz Gustavo	Marseille
	Bouna Sarr	Marseille
MF	Bruno Fernandes	Sporting CP
	Naby Keïta	RB Leipzig
	Koke	Atlético Madrid
	Saúl Ñíguez	Atlético Madrid
	Gabi	Atlético Madrid
	Diadie Samassékou	Red Bull Salzburg
FW	Gelson Martins	Sporting CP
	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid
	Ciro Immobile	Lazio
	Dimitri Payet	Marseille
	Timo Werner	RB Leipzig

Images for kids

• 

  The Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium, where the final was held.

Related Football Pages

• 2017–18 UEFA Champions League
• 2018 UEFA Super Cup

See also

In Spanish: Liga Europa de la UEFA 2017-18 para niños