With the Champions League tournament in the rear view mirror, you might have picked up on the point and scoring system, but if you didn’t, it is time to dive into one of the more foreign elements of soccer: aggregate scoring. Here in the United States, we are accustomed to our playoff formats either being one sudden death game, such as the NFL playoffs, or a best of seven series, such as the NBA and NHL playoffs. Soccer’s aggregate scoring is a format that could likely best be described as a hybrid between a single game and a series. Put simply, aggregate scoring works by playing two games, and the winner is the team that has scored the most combined goals over those two games.
Aggregate scoring is most prominent in the UEFA Champions League. Once teams have advanced past the group stages, and into the round of 16, they will play two games against their opponent in an aggregate match. Each team hosts one home game and after both have been played, whichever team has more combined goals advances to the next round. For example, let’s say that Manchester United is playing Real Madrid. Manchester United wins the first game at home 1-0, and then in the second game, Real Madrid ends up winning 3-1. With aggregate scoring, Real Madrid would advance with the final score being 3-2. Now, I’m sure you are doing some quick math in your head and wondering — what happens if the two teams are tied after the end of two games?
Much to the chagrin of Americans, soccer can, and often will, end in a tie. While there are ties in the NFL, they are quite rare, and of course, there are no ties in the playoffs. Remember that aggregate scoring really only occurs in the playoffs of the Champions League, since there needs to be a way to decide a winner. The first tiebreaker on aggregate is whoever has scored more away goals. In this scenario with our hypothetical Manchester United and Real Madrid matchup, Manchester United is the home team in the first match and Real Madrid is the home team for the second match. Again, Manchester United wins the first game at home 1-0, but this time, they lose the second game away at Real Madrid by a score of 3-2. Just looking at the scoreboard, it is a 3-3 tie, but because Manchester United scored 2 away goals compared to Real Madrid’s 0, Manchester United would advance to the next round.
Now, if the two teams are tied on aggregate and have scored the same number of away goals, then the end of the second game will head into extra time. Unlike “sudden death” overtime in the United States, where whoever scores first will be the winner, extra time in soccer will always last for two 15 minute halves. Therefore, there can be multiple goals scored in extra time, such as this thrilling Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. If the two teams are still tied after the extra 30 minutes, then the player’s nerves are put to the ultimate test in the form of a five-kick penalty shootout.
While aggregate scoring may seem like it produces more boring matches, there have been plenty of incredible second-match comebacks in recent years. Having a massive lead after one game is certainly helpful, but like any sport, momentum can change quickly. While teams tend to play more defensively (aka a more boring style) if they have a large lead coming into the second game, the defensive style can backfire. After losing 4-0 to PSG on the road, Barcelona was in bad shape; however, they managed to rally and ended up scoring a last-minute winner to win 6-1 and advance.
Aggregate scoring leaves the door wide open for comebacks, and few moments in both sports and life are more exhilarating than watching your favorite team’s improbable comeback.
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