The 2018–19 UEFA Europa League was the 48th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, between English sides Chelsea and Arsenal. It was the first Europa League final to feature two teams from the same city, and marked the first time all four teams in European club competition finals were from the Premier League, with Liverpool and Tottenham competing in the Champions League final. Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4–1 and earned the right to play against Liverpool, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup. As winners, Chelsea would also have been qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage; however, since they had already qualified after finishing third in the Premier League, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the 2018–19 Ligue 1 (Lyon) – the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.
For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition, where it was implemented in the final.
As the title holders of the Europa League, Atlético Madrid qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, although they had already qualified before the final through their league performance. They were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by Juventus in the round of 16.
Format changes On 9 December 2016, UEFA confirmed the reforming plan for the UEFA Champions League for the 2018–2021 cycle, which was announced on 26 August 2016. As per the new regulations, all teams that are eliminated in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds will get a second chance in the Europa League.
Association team allocation 213 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify. Associations 52–54 each had two teams qualify. Liechtenstein and Kosovo (association 55) each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Kosovo as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee). Moreover, 55 teams eliminated from the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League (default number was 57, but 2 fewer teams competed in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League).
Association ranking For the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2017 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2012–13 to 2016–17.
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below: – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
+Association ranking for 2018–19 UEFA Europa LeagueRankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes1104.9983279.498375.962473.332556.665650.532749.332842.633942.4001039.2001133.1751232.0751331.0631427.9001525.3501625.2501724.3501824.0001919.875RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes2019.75032119.7252219.3752318.9252418.5502518.3252617.7502715.8752815.3752915.2503013.1253111.7503211.0001339.5003349.500358.375367.650376.625RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes386.5753396.500406.375416.125425.625435.250445.250455.125464.875474.500484.125494.000503.875513.500522.5002531.165540.333550.0001
Distribution In the default access list, originally 17 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path). However, one fewer loser would be transferred since the Champions League title holders already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league. Therefore, only 19 teams entered the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round would be drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).
In addition, originally three losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). However, one fewer loser would be transferred since the Europa League title holders already qualified for the group stage via their domestic league. As a result, the following changes to the access list was made: The cup winners of association 18 (Denmark) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round. The cup winners of association 25 (Norway) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round. The cup winners of associations 50 (Wales) and 51 (Faroe Islands) entered the first qualifying round instead of the preliminary round.
+Access list for 2018–19 UEFA Europa LeagueTeams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous roundTeams transferred from Champions LeaguePreliminary round(14 teams)4 domestic cup winners from associations 52–55 6 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–54 4 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–51First qualifying round(94 teams)26 domestic cup winners from associations 26–51 30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein) 31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)7 winners from preliminary roundSecond qualifying roundChampions Path(18 teams)15 losers from Champions League first qualifying round 3 losers from Champions League preliminary roundMain Path(74 teams)7 domestic cup winners from associations 19–25 2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–15 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15 2 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 5–6 (League Cup winners for France) 4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (League Cup winners for England)47 winners from first qualifying roundThird qualifying roundChampions Path(20 teams)9 winners from second qualifying round (Champions Path)10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path) 1 losers from Champions League first qualifying round (Champions Path)Main Path(52 teams)6 domestic cup winners from associations 13–18 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 637 winners from second qualifying round (Main Path)2 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)Play-off roundChampions Path(16 teams)10 winners from third qualifying round (Champions Path)6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)Main Path(26 teams)26 winners from third qualifying round (Main Path)Group stage(48 teams)12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5 4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–48 winners from play-off round (Champions Path) 13 winners from play-off round (Main Path)4 losers from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path) 2 losers from Champions League play-off round (League Path) 4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)Knockout phase(32 teams)12 group winners from group stage 12 group runners-up from group stage8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage
Redistribution rules A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules: When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place". When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place" if possible. For associations where a Europa League place was reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners had already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place was taken by the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions.
Teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: CW: Cup winners 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position LC: League Cup winners RW: Regular season winners PW: End-of-season Europa League play-offs winners UCL: Transferred from the Champions League GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage PO: Losers from the play-off round Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round PR: Losers from the preliminary round (SF: semi-finals; F: final) +Qualified teams for 2018–19 UEFA Europa League (by entry round) Round of 32 Valencia Napoli Shakhtar Donetsk Galatasaray Inter Milan Benfica Club Brugge Viktoria Plzeň +Group stage Villarreal AC Milan Akhisarspor Dynamo Kyiv Real Betis Marseille Jablonec PAOK Eintracht Frankfurt Rennes Zürich Spartak Moscow Bayer Leverkusen Krasnodar Red Bull Salzburg Standard Liège Chelsea Sporting CP Dinamo Zagreb Fenerbahçe Arsenal Vorskla Poltava BATE Borisov Slavia Prague Lazio Anderlecht Vidi +Play-off roundChampions PathMain Path Malmö FF Astana Celtic Spartak Trnava Qarabağ Shkëndija +Third qualifying roundChampions PathMain Path CFR Cluj Ludogorets Razgrad Zenit Saint Petersburg Olympiacos Midtjylland Sheriff Tiraspol Braga Rapid Wien Legia Warsaw HJK Zorya Luhansk Rijeka Hapoel Be'er Sheva Kukësi Gent Universitatea Craiova Rosenborg Sūduva İstanbul Başakşehir Brøndby Cork City Sigma Olomouc Basel Luzern Sturm Graz Feyenoord +Second qualifying roundChampions PathMain Path APOEL F91 Dudelange Sevilla Atromitos Olimpija Ljubljana Crusaders RB Leipzig Asteras Tripolis Valur Valletta Burnley LASK Zrinjski Mostar The New Saints Atalanta Flyeralarm Admira Torpedo Kutaisi Víkingur Gøta Bordeaux Hajduk Split Spartaks Jūrmala Drita Ufa FCSB Flora Lincoln Red Imps Rio Ave Dynamo Brest Sutjeska FC Santa Coloma Mariupol Jagiellonia Białystok Alashkert La Fiorita Genk Djurgårdens IF Beşiktaş Hapoel Haifa Sparta Prague Aberdeen St. Gallen AEK Larnaca AZ Lillestrøm Vitesse