# 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase

The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase began on 18 February with the round of 32 and ended on 26 May 2021 with the final at Stadion Gdańsk in Gdańsk, Poland, to decide the champions of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. A total of 32 teams competed in the knockout phase.
Times are CET/CEST, as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

## Qualified teams

The knockout phase involved 32 teams: the 24 teams which qualified as winners and runners-up of each of the twelve groups in the group stage, and the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

### Europa League group stage winners and runners-up

| Group | Winners (seeded in round of 32 draw) | Runners-up (unseeded in round of 32 draw) |
| A | Roma | Young Boys |
| B | Arsenal | Molde |
| C | Bayer Leverkusen | Slavia Prague |
| D | Rangers | Benfica |
| E | PSV Eindhoven | Granada |
| F | Napoli | Real Sociedad |
| G | Leicester City | Braga |
| H | Milan | Lille |
| I | Villarreal | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| J | Tottenham Hotspur | Antwerp |
| K | Dinamo Zagreb | Wolfsberger AC |
| L | TSG Hoffenheim | Red Star Belgrade |

### Champions League group stage third-placed teams

| Seed | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Seeding |
| 1 | H | Manchester United | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 9 | Seeded in round of 32 draw |
| 2 | F | Club Brugge | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | Seeded in round of 32 draw |
| 3 | B | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 8 | Seeded in round of 32 draw |
| 4 | D | Ajax | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | Seeded in round of 32 draw |
| 5 | E | Krasnodar | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 5 | Unseeded in round of 32 draw |
| 6 | A | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 4 | Unseeded in round of 32 draw |
| 7 | G | Dynamo Kyiv | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 4 | Unseeded in round of 32 draw |
| 8 | C | Olympiacos | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 3 | Unseeded in round of 32 draw |

## Format

Each tie in the knockout phase, apart from the final, 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 extra time was played. 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 winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the final, which was played as a single match, if the score was level at the end of normal time, extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score was still level.
The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:
* In the draw for the round of 32, the twelve group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records were seeded, and the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
* In the draws for the round of 16 onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner was designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA emergency panel ruled that Ukrainian and Russian clubs would not be drawn against each other "until further notice" due to the political unrest between the countries.
In the knockout phase, teams from the same or nearby cities (Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur) were not scheduled to play at home on the same day, due to logistics and crowd control. To avoid such scheduling conflicts, UEFA had to make adjustments. For the round of 32, since both teams were seeded and play the second leg at home, the home match of the team that was not domestic cup champions in the qualifying season, or the team with the lower domestic ranking (if neither team were the domestic cup champions, i.e. Tottenham Hotspur for this season), was moved from Thursday to Wednesday. For the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, if the two teams were drawn to play at home for the same leg, the order of legs of the tie involving the team with the lowest priority was reversed from the original draw.

## Schedule

The schedule was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
| Round of 32 | 14 December 2020, 13:00 | 18 February 2021 | 25 February 2021 |
| Round of 16 | 26 February 2021, 13:00 | 11 March 2021 | 18 March 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | 19 March 2021, 13:00 | 8 April 2021 | 15 April 2021 |
| Semi-finals | 19 March 2021, 13:00 | 29 April 2021 | 6 May 2021 |
| Final | 19 March 2021, 13:00 | 26 May 2021 at Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk | 26 May 2021 at Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk |

## Bracket

| Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Wolfsberger AC | Wolfsberger AC | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 4 | 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar | 2 | 0 | 2 | Dinamo Zagreb (a.e.t.) | Dinamo Zagreb (a.e.t.) | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | Dinamo Zagreb | Dinamo Zagreb | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Dynamo Kyiv | Dynamo Kyiv | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | Villarreal | Villarreal | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | |
| Club Brugge | Club Brugge | 1 | 0 | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv | Dynamo Kyiv | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Red Bull Salzburg | Red Bull Salzburg | 0 | 1 | 1 | Villarreal | Villarreal | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villarreal | Villarreal | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | Villarreal | Villarreal | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Olympiacos | Olympiacos | 4 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | Arsenal | Arsenal | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| PSV Eindhoven | PSV Eindhoven | 2 | 2 | 4 | Olympiacos | Olympiacos | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Benfica | Benfica | 1 | 2 | 3 | Arsenal | Arsenal | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arsenal | Arsenal | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | Arsenal | Arsenal | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | |
| Slavia Prague | Slavia Prague | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | Slavia Prague | Slavia Prague | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Leicester City | Leicester City | 0 | 0 | 0 | Slavia Prague | Slavia Prague | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Antwerp | Antwerp | 3 | 2 | 5 | Rangers | Rangers | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 26 May – Gdańsk | 26 May – Gdańsk | 26 May – Gdańsk |
| Rangers | Rangers | 4 | 5 | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Villarreal (p) | Villarreal (p) | 1 (11) |
| Granada | Granada | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Manchester United | Manchester United | 1 (10) |
| Napoli | Napoli | 0 | 2 | 2 | Granada | Granada | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Molde | Molde | 3 | 2 | 5 | Molde | Molde | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| TSG Hoffenheim | TSG Hoffenheim | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | Granada | Granada | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Real Sociedad | Real Sociedad | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | Manchester United | Manchester United | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Manchester United | Manchester United | 4 | 0 | 4 | Manchester United | Manchester United | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Red Star Belgrade | Red Star Belgrade | 2 | 1 | 3 | Milan | Milan | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Milan (a) | Milan (a) | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | Manchester United | Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 8 | | | |
| Lille | Lille | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | Roma | Roma | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | |
| Ajax | Ajax | 2 | 2 | 4 | Ajax | Ajax | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Young Boys | Young Boys | 4 | 2 | 6 | Young Boys | Young Boys | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Bayer Leverkusen | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | Ajax | Ajax | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Braga | Braga | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | Roma | Roma | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Roma | Roma | 2 | 3 | 5 | Roma | Roma | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0 | 0 | 0 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2020, 13:00 CET.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Wolfsberger AC | 1–8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–4 | 0–4 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–1 | Club Brugge | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Real Sociedad | 0–4 | Manchester United | 0–4 | 0–0 |
| Benfica | 3–4 | Arsenal | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 3–3 (a) | Milan | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Antwerp | 5–9 | Rangers | 3–4 | 2–5 |
| Slavia Prague | 2–0 | Leicester City | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 1–4 | Villarreal | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Braga | 1–5 | Roma | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Krasnodar | 2–4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Young Boys | 6–3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4–3 | 2–0 |
| Molde | 5–3 | TSG Hoffenheim | 3–3 | 2–0 |
| Granada | 3–2 | Napoli | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Lille | 2–4 | Ajax | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Olympiacos | 5–4 | PSV Eindhoven | 4–2 | 1–2 |

### Matches

Tottenham Hotspur won 8–1 on aggregate.
Dynamo Kyiv won 2–1 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 4–0 on aggregate.
Arsenal won 4–3 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate; Milan won on away goals.
Rangers won 9–5 on aggregate.
Slavia Prague won 2–0 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 4–1 on aggregate.
Roma won 5–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 4–2 on aggregate.
Young Boys won 6–3 on aggregate.
Molde won 5–3 on aggregate.
Granada won 3–2 on aggregate.
Shakhtar Donetsk won 3–0 on aggregate.
Ajax won 4–2 on aggregate.
Olympiacos won 5–4 on aggregate.

## Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2021, 13:00 CET.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 11 March, and the second legs were played on 18 March 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Ajax | 5–0 | Young Boys | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 0–4 | Villarreal | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Roma | 5–1 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Olympiacos | 2–3 | Arsenal | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–3 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2–0 | 0–3 (a.e.t.) |
| Manchester United | 2–1 | Milan | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Slavia Prague | 3–1 | Rangers | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Granada | 3–2 | Molde | 2–0 | 1–2 |
* ↑ Order of legs between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb were reversed after original draw, in order to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Arsenal v Olympiacos second leg in the same city on 18 March, as Arsenal were the domestic cup winners and given higher priority over Tottenham Hotspur.

### Matches

Ajax won 5–0 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 4–0 on aggregate.
Roma won 5–1 on aggregate.
Arsenal won 3–2 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 3–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 2–1 on aggregate.
Slavia Prague won 3–1 on aggregate.
Granada won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 8 April, and the second legs were played on 15 April 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Granada | 0–4 | Manchester United | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Arsenal | 5–1 | Slavia Prague | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Ajax | 2–3 | Roma | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 1–3 | Villarreal | 0–1 | 1–2 |

### Matches

Manchester United won 4–0 on aggregate.
Arsenal won 5–1 on aggregate.
Roma won 3–2 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 19 March 2021, 13:00 CET, after the quarter-final draw.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 29 April, and the second legs were played on 6 May 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Manchester United | 8–5 | Roma | 6–2 | 2–3 |
| Villarreal | 2–1 | Arsenal | 2–1 | 0–0 |

### Matches

Manchester United won 8–5 on aggregate.
Villarreal won 2–1 on aggregate.

## Final

The final was played on 26 May 2021 at the Stadion Gdańsk in Gdańsk. A draw was held on 19 March 2021, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.