# 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round

The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 30 June and ended on 26 August 2015. A total of 56 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 10 of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.
All times were CEST (UTC+2).

## Round and draw dates

All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
| Round | Draw date and time | First leg | Second leg |
| First qualifying round | 22 June 2015, 12:00 | 30 June – 1 July 2015 | 7–8 July 2015 |
| Second qualifying round | 22 June 2015, 12:00 | 14–15 July 2015 | 21–22 July 2015 |
| Third qualifying round | 17 July 2015, 12:00 | 28–29 July 2015 | 4–5 August 2015 |
| Play-off round | 7 August 2015, 12:00 | 18–19 August 2015 | 25–26 August 2015 |

## Format

In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time was played, divided into two 15-minute halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.

## Teams

There were two routes which the teams were separated into during qualifying:
* Champions Route, which included all domestic champions which had not qualified for the group stage.
* League Route (also called the Non-champions Path or the Best-placed Path), which included all domestic non-champions which had not qualified for the group stage.
A total of 56 teams (41 in Champions Route, 15 in League Route) were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round. The 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route) advanced to the group stage to join the 22 teams which entered in the group stage. The 15 losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round, and the 10 losers of the play-off round entered the Europa League group stage.
Below are the participating teams (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.
* Key to colours
* Winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage
* Losers of the play-off round entered the Europa League group stage
* Losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round

### Champions Route

Third qualifying round :
| Third qualifying round Team Coeff Basel 84.875 Red Bull Salzburg 43.135 Viktoria Plzeň 41.825 | Second qualifying round Team Coeff Steaua București 40.259 Celtic 39.080 APOEL 35.460 BATE Borisov 35.150 Ludogorets Razgrad 25.350 Dinamo Zagreb 24.700 Maribor 22.225 Maccabi Tel Aviv 18.200 Lech Poznań 17.300 Partizan 14.775 Malmö FF 12.545 Qarabağ 11.500 HJK 11.140 Molde 10.375 Midtjylland 7.960 Videoton 7.950 Skënderbeu 5.575 Sarajevo 5.500 Ventspils 5.350 Dila Gori 4.875 Trenčín 4.250 Žalgiris 3.900 Astana 3.825 Milsami Orhei 3.750 Rudar Pljevlja 3.375 Vardar 3.175 Stjarnan 3.100 Fola Esch 2.525 Dundalk 2.150 Hibernians 1.591 | First qualifying round Team Coeff The New Saints 5.575 Levadia Tallinn 4.200 Pyunik 3.550 FC Santa Coloma 2.666 Crusaders 2.475 B36 1.450 Lincoln Red Imps 0.550 Folgore 0.349 |

### League Route

Play-off round :
| Play-off round Team Coeff Manchester United 103.078 Valencia 99.999 Bayer Leverkusen 87.883 Sporting CP 56.276 Lazio 49.102 | Third qualifying round Team Coeff Shakhtar Donetsk 86.033 Ajax 66.195 CSKA Moscow 55.599 Club Brugge 41.440 Monaco 31.483 Young Boys 31.375 Sparta Prague 30.825 Fenerbahçe 30.020 Panathinaikos 19.880 Rapid Wien 15.635 |

## First qualifying round
### Seeding

A total of eight teams played in the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 22 June 2015.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
| The New Saints Levadia Tallinn Pyunik FC Santa Coloma | Crusaders B36 Lincoln Red Imps Folgore |

### Summary

The first legs were played on 30 June and 1 July, and the second legs were played on 7 July 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Lincoln Red Imps | 2–1 | FC Santa Coloma | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Crusaders | 1–1 (a) | Levadia Tallinn | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Pyunik | 4–2 | Folgore | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| B36 | 2–6 | The New Saints | 1–2 | 1–4 |

### Matches

Lincoln Red Imps won 2–1 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate; Crusaders won on away goals.
Pyunik won 4–2 on aggregate.
The New Saints won 6–2 on aggregate.

## Second qualifying round
### Seeding

A total of 34 teams played in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which entered in this round, and the four winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 22 June 2015.
| Group 1 | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 3 |
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| APOEL Maribor Maccabi Tel Aviv Lech Poznań Qarabağ | Sarajevo Astana Rudar Pljevlja Vardar Hibernians | Celtic BATE Borisov Malmö FF HJK Molde Midtjylland | Ventspils Žalgiris Pyunik Stjarnan Lincoln Red Imps Dundalk | Steaua București Ludogorets Razgrad Dinamo Zagreb Partizan Videoton Skënderbeu | The New Saints Dila Gori Trenčín Crusaders Milsami Orhei Fola Esch |

#### Notes

* $^†$ Winners of the first qualifying round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the first qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the second qualifying round.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 14 and 15 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 July 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Hibernians | 3–6 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2–1 | 1–5 |
| APOEL | 1–1 (a) | Vardar | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Qarabağ | 1–0 | Rudar Pljevlja | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Sarajevo | 0–3 | Lech Poznań | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Maribor | 2–3 | Astana | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| BATE Borisov | 2–1 | Dundalk | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Ventspils | 1–4 | HJK | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Midtjylland | 3–0 | Lincoln Red Imps | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Molde | 5–1 | Pyunik | 5–0 | 0–1 |
| Malmö FF | 1–0 | Žalgiris | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Celtic | 6–1 | Stjarnan | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| Trenčín | 3–4 | Steaua București | 0–2 | 3–2 |
| Partizan | 3–0 | Dila Gori | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 1–3 | Milsami Orhei | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 4–1 | Fola Esch | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Skënderbeu | 6–4 | Crusaders | 4–1 | 2–3 |
| The New Saints | 1–2 | Videoton | 0–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
* 1 2 Order of legs reversed after original draw.

### Matches

Maccabi Tel Aviv won 6–3 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate; APOEL won on away goals.
Qarabağ won 1–0 on aggregate.
Lech Poznań won 3–0 on aggregate.
Astana won 3–2 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.
HJK won 4–1 on aggregate.
Midtjylland won 3–0 on aggregate.
Molde won 5–1 on aggregate.
Malmö FF won 1–0 on aggregate.
Celtic won 6–1 on aggregate.
Steaua București won 4–3 on aggregate.
Partizan won 3–0 on aggregate.
Milsami Orhei won 3–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 4–1 on aggregate.
Skënderbeu won 6–4 on aggregate.
Videoton won 2–1 on aggregate.

## Third qualifying round
### Seeding

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League play-off round.
A total of 30 teams played in the third qualifying round:
* Champions Route: three teams which entered in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.
* League Route: ten teams which entered in this round.
The draw was held on 17 July 2015.
| Champions Route | Champions Route | Champions Route | Champions Route | League Route | League Route |
| Group 1 | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 2 | | League Route | League Route |
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| Basel Steaua București Celtic Milsami Orhei Astana | Lech Poznań Partizan Qarabağ HJK Skënderbeu | Red Bull Salzburg Viktoria Plzeň APOEL BATE Borisov Dinamo Zagreb | Maccabi Tel Aviv Malmö FF Molde Midtjylland Videoton | Shakhtar Donetsk Ajax CSKA Moscow Club Brugge Monaco | Young Boys Sparta Prague Fenerbahçe Panathinaikos Rapid Wien |

#### Notes

* $^†$ Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the second qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the third qualifying round.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 28 and 29 July, and the second legs were played on 4 and 5 August 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Champions Route |||||
| Lech Poznań | 1–4 | Basel | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Milsami Orhei | 0–4 | Skënderbeu | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| HJK | 3–4 | Astana | 0–0 | 3–4 |
| Celtic | 1–0 | Qarabağ | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Steaua București | 3–5 | Partizan | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| Midtjylland | 2–2 (a) | APOEL | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–2 | Viktoria Plzeň | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 4–4 (a) | Molde | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Videoton | 1–2 | BATE Borisov | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2–3 | Malmö FF | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| League Route |||||
| Panathinaikos | 2–4 | Club Brugge | 2–1 | 0–3 |
| Young Boys | 1–7 | Monaco | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| CSKA Moscow | 5–4 | Sparta Prague | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Rapid Wien | 5–4 | Ajax | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Fenerbahçe | 0–3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–0 | 0–3 |

### Matches

Basel won 4–1 on aggregate.
Skënderbeu won 4–0 on aggregate.
Astana won 4–3 on aggregate.
Celtic won 1–0 on aggregate.
Partizan won 5–3 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate; APOEL won on away goals.
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 3–2 on aggregate.
4–4 on aggregate; Dinamo Zagreb won on away goals.
BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.
Malmö FF won 3–2 on aggregate.
Club Brugge won 4–2 on aggregate.
Monaco won 7–1 on aggregate.
CSKA Moscow won 5–4 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien won 5–4 on aggregate.
Shakhtar Donetsk won 3–0 on aggregate.

## Play-off round
### Seeding

The play-off round was split into two sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage.
A total of 20 teams played in the play-off round:
* Champions Route: the ten Champions Route winners of the third qualifying round.
* League Route: five teams which entered in this round, and the five League Route winners of the third qualifying round.
The draw was held on 7 August 2015.
| Champions Route | Champions Route | League Route | League Route |
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| Basel Celtic APOEL BATE Borisov Dinamo Zagreb | Maccabi Tel Aviv Partizan Malmö FF Skënderbeu Astana | Manchester United Valencia Bayer Leverkusen Shakhtar Donetsk Sporting CP | CSKA Moscow Lazio Club Brugge Monaco Rapid Wien |

#### Notes

* $^‡$ Due to UEFA's decision in preventing Russian and Ukrainian teams playing each other, Shakhtar Donetsk could not be drawn against CSKA Moscow.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 18 and 19 August, and the second legs were played on 25 and 26 August 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Champions Route |||||
| Astana | 2–1 | APOEL | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Skënderbeu | 2–6 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1–2 | 1–4 |
| Celtic | 3–4 | Malmö FF | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Basel | 3–3 (a) | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| BATE Borisov | 2–2 (a) | Partizan | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| League Route |||||
| Lazio | 1–3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Manchester United | 7–1 | Club Brugge | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Sporting CP | 3–4 | CSKA Moscow | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| Rapid Wien | 2–3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Valencia | 4–3 | Monaco | 3–1 | 1–2 |

### Matches

Astana won 2–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 6–2 on aggregate.
Malmö FF won 4–3 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate; Maccabi Tel Aviv won on away goals.
2–2 on aggregate; BATE Borisov won on away goals.
Bayer Leverkusen won 3–1 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 7–1 on aggregate.
CSKA Moscow won 4–3 on aggregate.
Shakhtar Donetsk won 3–2 on aggregate.
Valencia won 4–3 on aggregate.

## Statistics

There were 240 goals in 92 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of 2.61 goals per match.

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | Minutes played |
| 1 | Eran Zahavi | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 7 | 450 |
| 2 | Hamdi Salihi | Skënderbeu | 5 | 438 |
| 3 | Ola Kamara | Molde | 4 | 331 |
| 3 | Michael Wilde | The New Saints | 4 | 368 |
| 5 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United | 3 | 174 |
| 5 | Seydou Doumbia | CSKA Moscow | 3 | 178 |
| 5 | Leigh Griffiths | Celtic | 3 | 268 |
| 5 | Louis Schaub | Rapid Wien | 3 | 284 |
| 5 | Mohamed Elyounoussi | Molde | 3 | 360 |
| 5 | Ahmed Musa | CSKA Moscow | 3 | 360 |
| 5 | Hillal Soudani | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 479 |
| 5 | Marko Pjaca | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 527 |
Source: UEFA.com

### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Team | Assists | Minutes played |
| 1 | Stefan Johansen | Celtic | 4 | 540 |
| 2 | Jairo da Silva | Trenčín | 3 | 177 |
| 2 | Roman Eremenko | CSKA Moscow | 3 | 360 |
| 2 | Jakob Poulsen | Midtjylland | 3 | 360 |
| 2 | Andrija Živković | Partizan | 3 | 479 |
| 6 | 23 players | 23 players | 2 | — |
Source: UEFA.com