2022–23 UEFA Youth League

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The 2022–23 UEFA Youth League was the ninth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

2022–23 UEFA Youth League
The Stade de Genève in Geneva hosted the semi-finals and final
Tournament details
Dates6 September 2022 – 24 April 2023
Teams64 (from 39 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsNetherlands AZ (1st title)
Runners-upCroatia Hajduk Split
Tournament statistics
Matches played167
Goals scored575 (3.44 per match)
Attendance177,367 (1,062 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bilal Mazhar (Panathinaikos)
Mexx Meerdink (AZ)
9 goals each

The title holders were Benfica, who defeated Salzburg 6–0 in the previous season's final. Benfica were eliminated in the group stage, while AZ won their first European title by beating Hajduk Split 5–0 in the final. They became the first Dutch club since Feyenoord in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup to win a European title.

The season saw a sensational campaign by Croatian side Hajduk Split, which managed to knock out sides like Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan to qualify for the final, which took place in Stade de Genève due to the interest by the fans.

Teams

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A total of 64 teams from 39 of the 55 UEFA member associations entered the tournament. They were split into two sections, each with 32 teams.

  • UEFA Champions League Path: The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2022–23 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 2022 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path. 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.

Apolonia, Ashdod, Borac Banja Luka, Coleraine, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hibernian, Jelgava, Nantes, Omonia, Pobeda, Pyunik, Racing Union, Rukh Lviv, Shamrock Rovers, Trenčín and Zagłębie Lubin made their tournament debuts. Armenia and Northern Ireland were represented for the first time.[1]

Qualified teams for 2022–23 UEFA Youth League[1]
Rank Association Teams
UEFA Champions League Path Domestic Champions Path
1   England
2   Spain
3   Italy
4   Germany
5   France Nantes (2021–22 Championnat National U19)
6   Portugal
7   Netherlands Ajax AZ (2021–22 Eredivisie U18)
9   Belgium Club Brugge Genk (2021–22 Belgian U18 League)
10   Austria Red Bull Salzburg[YC] (2021–22 Jugendliga U18)[6]
11   Scotland Hibernian (2021–22 Scottish U18 League)
12   Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk[Note UKR] Rukh Lviv[Note UKR] (2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League Youth)
13   Turkey Galatasaray (2021–22 U19 Elite)
14   Denmark Copenhagen[PO][YC] (2021–22 U19 Ligaen)
15   Cyprus Omonia (2021–22 Cypriot U19 League)
16   Serbia Red Star Belgrade (2021–22 Serbian U19 League)
17   Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň[PO] Slavia Prague (2021–22 Czech U19 League)
18   Croatia Dinamo Zagreb[PO] Hajduk Split (2021–22 1. HNL Juniori U19)
19   Switzerland Young Boys (2021–22 Swiss U18 League)
20   Greece Panathinaikos (2021–22 Superleague K19)
21   Israel Maccabi Haifa[PO] Ashdod (2021–22 Israeli U19 Noar Premier League)
22   Norway Molde (2021 Norwegian U19 Cup)
23   Sweden AIK (2021 P17 Allsvenskan)
24   Bulgaria Slavia Sofia (2021–22 U18 BFU Cup)
25   Romania Csíkszereda Miercurea Ciuc (2021–22 Liga Elitelor U19)
26   Azerbaijan Gabala (2021–22 Azerbaijani U19 League)
27   Kazakhstan Astana[Note KAZ] (2021 Kazakhstani U17 League)
28   Hungary MTK Budapest (2021–22 Hungarian U19 League)
30   Poland Zagłębie Lubin (2021–22 Polish U18 Central Junior League)
31   Slovenia Domžale (2021–22 Slovenian U19 League)
32   Slovakia Trenčín (2021–22 Slovak U19 League)
34   Lithuania Žalgiris[V-RUS] (2021 Lithuanian Elite Youth League U19 Division)
35   Luxembourg Racing Union[V-BLR] (2021–22 Luxembourg U19 Junior Championship)
36   Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka[V-YC] (2021–22 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 Junior League)
37   Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers[V-YC] (2021 League of Ireland U19 Division)
38   North Macedonia Pobeda[V-YC] (2021–22 Macedonian U19 League)
39   Armenia Pyunik[V-YC] (2021 Armenian U18 League)
40   Latvia Jelgava[V-YC] (2021 Latvian U18 League)
41   Albania Apolonia[V-PO] (2021–22 Albanian U19 League)
42   Northern Ireland Coleraine[V-PO] (2021–22 Northern Ireland Academy League U18)
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
8   Russia[Note RUS]
29   Belarus
33   Liechtenstein
43   Georgia
44   Finland
45   Moldova
Rank Association
46   Malta
47   Faroe Islands
48   Kosovo
49   Gibraltar
50   Montenegro
Rank Association
51   Wales
52   Iceland
53   Estonia
54   Andorra
55   San Marino
Notes
  1. YC Teams playing in the UEFA Champions League Path which were also youth domestic champions.
  2. PO Teams playing in the UEFA Champions League Path after their senior team qualified for the Champions League group stage via play-offs.
  3. V-RUS Team playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancy of Russia (excluded from UEFA competitions).
  4. V-BLR Team playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancy of Belarus.
  5. V-YC Teams playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancies of teams which qualified for the Champions League group stage automatically.
  6. V-PO Teams playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancies of teams which qualified for the Champions League group stage via play-offs.
  7. ^
    Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7] On 2 May 2022, UEFA confirmed that Russian clubs would be excluded from the 2022–23 UEFA competitions.[8]
  8. ^
    Ukraine (UKR): The 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League and the 2021–22 Ukrainian U19 League were abandoned due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The top teams of the two leagues at the time of the abandonment (Shakhtar Donetsk and Rukh Lviv respectively) were selected to play in the 2022–23 UEFA Youth League by the Ukrainian Association of Football.
  9. ^
    Kazakhstan (KAZ): The 2021 Kazakhstan Youth Cup were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan. The top teams of the two leagues at the time of the abandonment. Astana, were selected to play in the 2022–23 UEFA Youth League by the Kazakhstan Football Federation.

Round and draw dates

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The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[9]

  • For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams played 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 were 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.
Schedule for 2022–23 UEFA Youth League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
UEFA Champions League Path
Group stage
Matchday 1 25 August 2022 6–7 September 2022
Matchday 2 13–14 September 2022
Matchday 3 4–5 October 2022
Matchday 4 11–12 October 2022
Matchday 5 25–26 October 2022
Matchday 6 1–2 November 2022
Domestic Champions Path First round 31 August 2022 14 September 2022 5 October 2022
Second round 26 October 2022 2 November 2022
Knockout phase Play-offs 8 November 2022 7–8 February 2023
Round of 16 13 February 2023 28 February 2023 & 1 March
Quarter-finals 14–15 March 2023
Semi-finals 21 April 2023 at Stade de Genève, Geneva
Final 24 April 2023 at Stade de Genève, Geneva

UEFA Champions League Path

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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 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 25 August 2022, 18:00 CEST (19:00 TRT), in Istanbul, Turkey.[10]

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

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LIV AJX RAN NAP
1   Liverpool 6 5 0 1 20 8 +12 15 Advance to round of 16 4–0 4–1 5–0
2   Ajax 6 4 1 1 17 10 +7 13 Advance to play-offs 3–1 2–1 5–1
3   Rangers 6 2 0 4 13 20 −7 6 3–4 2–6 3–2
4   Napoli 6 0 1 5 7 19 −12 1 1–2 1–1 2–3
Source: UEFA

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ATM POR BRU LEV
1   Atlético Madrid 6 5 0 1 14 4 +10 15 Advance to round of 16 1–0 1–2 4–0
2   Porto 6 4 0 2 11 7 +4 12 Advance to play-offs 1–2 2–1 3–1
3   Club Brugge 6 3 0 3 10 9 +1 9 1–3 1–2 4–1
4   Bayer Leverkusen 6 0 0 6 3 18 −15 0 0–3 1–3 0–1
Source: UEFA

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR INT BAY PLZ
1   Barcelona 6 4 2 0 18 7 +11 14 Advance to round of 16 2–0 3–2 3–0
2   Inter Milan 6 2 1 3 10 14 −4 7 Advance to play-offs 1–6 2–2 4–2
3   Bayern Munich 6 1 3 2 13 13 0 6 3–3 2–0 1–2
4   Viktoria Plzeň 6 1 2 3 8 15 −7 5 1–1 0–3 3–3
Source: UEFA

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SPO FRA TOT MAR
1   Sporting CP 6 4 2 0 13 3 +10 14 Advance to round of 16 1–0 2–0 1–1
2   Eintracht Frankfurt 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11 Advance to play-offs 1–1 1–0 2–0
3   Tottenham Hotspur 6 2 0 4 9 10 −1 6 1–2 2–3 3–0
4   Marseille 6 0 2 4 6 18 −12 2 0–6 2–2 2–3
Source: UEFA

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MIL SAL DZG CHE
1   Milan 6 4 2 0 12 5 +7 14 Advance to round of 16 2–1 3–0 3–1
2   Red Bull Salzburg 6 2 2 2 11 7 +4 8 Advance to play-offs 1–1 2–0 5–1
3   Dinamo Zagreb 6 2 0 4 7 14 −7 6 1–2 2–1 4–2
4   Chelsea 6 1 2 3 10 14 −4 5 1–1 1–1 4–0
Source: UEFA

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RMA SHK RBL CEL
1   Real Madrid 6 5 1 0 23 5 +18 16 Advance to round of 16 6–1 1–1 4–1
2   Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 1 2 6 10 −4 10 Advance to play-offs 0–3 0–0 2–1
3   RB Leipzig 6 1 2 3 6 8 −2 5 2–3 0–2 1–2
4   Celtic 6 1 0 5 4 16 −12 3 0–6 0–1 0–2
Source: UEFA

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MCI DOR CPH SEV
1   Manchester City 6 4 2 0 16 8 +8 14 Advance to round of 16 3–2 1–1 1–0
2   Borussia Dortmund 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8 Advance to play-offs 3–3 0–2 2–0
3   Copenhagen 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7 1–3 0–1 4–1
4   Sevilla 6 1 1 4 5 14 −9 4 1–5 1–1 2–1
Source: UEFA

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAR JUV BEN MHA
1   Paris Saint-Germain 6 4 1 1 20 11 +9 13 Advance to round of 16 5–3 2–3 3–1
2   Juventus 6 3 2 1 17 14 +3 11 Advance to play-offs 4–4 1–1 3–1
3   Benfica 6 2 1 3 12 10 +2 7 0–1 2–3 0–1
4   Maccabi Haifa 6 1 0 5 6 20 −14 3 0–5 1–3 2–6
Source: UEFA

Domestic Champions Path

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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 2022.

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

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The first legs were played on 12–28 September and the second legs were played on 4–12 October 2022.[11]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Red Star Belgrade   3–1[A]   Omonia 1–0 2–1
Young Boys   5–2   Domžale 3–0 2–2
Genk   5–4   Slavia Prague 1–2 4–2
Nantes   5–0   Pyunik 2–0 3–0
AZ   6–1   Shamrock Rovers 5–0 1–1
AIK   8–2   Racing Union 5–0 3–2
Molde   2–2
(4–5 p)
  Hibernian 1–0 1–2
Coleraine   5–4[A]   Pobeda 3–2 2–2
MTK Budapest   4–0   Jelgava 3–0 1–0
Žalgiris   2–5   Trenčín 2–1 0–4
Hajduk Split   5–1   Gabala 3–0 2–1
Rukh Lviv   1–0   Zagłębie Lubin 1–0 0–0
Ashdod   5–0   Borac Banja Luka 2–0 3–0
Panathinaikos   10–2[A]   Slavia Sofia 8–0 2–2
Astana   2–4   Apolonia 1–1 1–3
Csíkszereda Miercurea Ciuc   1–5   Galatasaray 1–1 0–4

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Second round

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
AZ   3–3
(4–3 p)
  Red Star Belgrade 2–2 1–1
Hibernian   3–1   Nantes 1–0 2–1
Young Boys   3–3
(9–8 p)
  AIK 0–3 3–0
Coleraine   1–10[A]   Genk 0–4 1–6
Panathinaikos   6–3   Trenčín 2–0 4–3
Apolonia   1–6   Hajduk Split 0–3 1–3
Galatasaray   2–6   Rukh Lviv 1–3 1–3
Ashdod   1–2   MTK Budapest 0–2 1–0

Notes

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Knockout phase

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Bracket

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Play-offsRound of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
                  
8 February
  MTK Budapest0
1 March
  Ajax1
  Sporting CP5
  Ajax1
14 March
  Sporting CP1
8 February
  Liverpool0
  Panathinaikos0
1 March
  Porto1
  Liverpool (p)1 (6)
  Porto1 (5)
21 April – Geneva
  Sporting CP2 (3)
8 February
  AZ (p)2 (4)
  AZ5
1 March
  Eintracht Frankfurt0
  Barcelona0
  AZ3
15 March
  AZ4
7 February
  Real Madrid0
  Young Boys2
1 March
  Red Bull Salzburg3
  Real Madrid3
  Red Bull Salzburg1
24 April – Geneva
  AZ5
7 February
  Hajduk Split0
  Hibernian1
28 February
  Borussia Dortmund2
  Borussia Dortmund (p)1 (5)
  Paris Saint-Germain1 (4)
15 March
  Borussia Dortmund1 (8)
8 February
  Hajduk Split (p)1 (9)
  Hajduk Split1
28 February
  Shakhtar Donetsk0
  Hajduk Split2
  Manchester City1
21 April – Geneva
  Hajduk Split3
8 February
  Milan1
  Rukh Lviv (p)1 (4)
28 February
  Inter Milan1 (3)
  Milan1
  Rukh Lviv0
14 March
  Milan2
8 February
  Atlético Madrid0
  Genk (p)0 (4)
1 March
  Juventus0 (3)
  Atlético Madrid4
  Genk1

Play-offs

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The eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path were drawn against the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path, with the teams from the Domestic Champions Path hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

The draw was conducted on 8 November 2022 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[9] The play-offs were played over one leg on 7 and 8 February 2023.[12]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Young Boys   2–3   Red Bull Salzburg
AZ   5–0   Eintracht Frankfurt
Rukh Lviv   1–1
(4–3 p)
  Inter Milan
Hajduk Split   1–0   Shakhtar Donetsk
MTK Budapest   0–1   Ajax
Hibernian   1–2   Borussia Dortmund
Panathinaikos   0–1   Porto
Genk   0–0
(4–3 p)
  Juventus

Round of 16

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The draw was conducted on 13 February 2023 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[13] The round of 16 was played over one leg on 28 February and 1 March 2023.[9]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Milan   1–0   Rukh Lviv
Barcelona   0–3   AZ
Liverpool   1–1
(6–5 p)
  Porto
Atlético Madrid   4–1   Genk
Borussia Dortmund   1–1
(5–4 p)
  Paris Saint-Germain
Hajduk Split   2–1   Manchester City
Sporting CP   5–1   Ajax
Real Madrid   3–1   Red Bull Salzburg

Quarter-finals

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The draw was conducted on 13 February 2023 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[13] The quarter-finals were played over one leg on 14 and 15 March 2023.[9]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
AZ   4–0   Real Madrid
Milan   2–0   Atlético Madrid
Sporting CP   1–0   Liverpool
Borussia Dortmund   1–1
(8–9 p)
  Hajduk Split

Semi-finals

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The draw was conducted on 13 February 2023 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[13] The semi-finals were played over one leg on 21 April 2023.[9] All four teams were qualified to the semi-finals for the first time ever, ensuring a fourth different champions in a row.[14]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Sporting CP   2–2
(3–4 p)
  AZ
Hajduk Split   3–1   Milan

Final

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The final was played on 24 April 2023 at Stade de Genève, Geneva.[9]

AZ  5–0  Hajduk Split
Report
Attendance: 9,390[15]

Top goalscorers

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Rank[16] Player Team Goals
1   Bilal Mazhar   Panathinaikos 9
  Mexx Meerdink   AZ
3   Ilyes Housni   Paris Saint-Germain 8
  Adrián Niño   Atlético Madrid
  Ernest Poku   AZ
6   Víctor Barberà   Barcelona 7
  Oakley Cannonier   Liverpool
8   Ismaël Gharbi   Paris Saint-Germain 6
  Karim Konaté   Red Bull Salzburg
  Rodrigo Ribeiro   Sporting CP

References

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  1. ^ a b "Which teams are in the 2022/23 Youth League?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Champions Man City visit Newcastle in Under-18 opener". Premier League. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ^ "2-0: El Barça conquista la Copa y sella el doblete" [2-0: Barça conquers the Cup and seals the double]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ "La festa dell'Inter per la vittoria del Campionato Primavera 1 TIMVISION". legaseriea.it. Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A. 31 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  5. ^ "2:1 bei Hertha BSC: BVB macht neunten Meistertitel perfekt". dfb.de (in German). German Football Association. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Rekorderfolg für unsere U18". FC Liefering.
  7. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC.co.uk. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". UEFA.com (Press release). Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "2022/23 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. ^ "UEFA Champions League group stage draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Draws | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  12. ^ "2022/23 UEFA Youth League play-off ties". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "UEFA Youth League knockout draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Meet the UEFA Youth League semi-finalists: Sporting CP vs AZ Alkmaar, Hajduk Split vs AC Milan". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  15. ^ "AZ Alkmaar vs. Hajduk Split" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Player Goals Stats". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
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