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2023–24 UEFA Youth League

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2023–24 UEFA Youth League
The Colovray Stadium in Nyon hosted the semi-finals and final
Tournament details
Dates19 September 2023 – 22 April 2024
Teams64 (from 35 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsGreece Olympiacos (1st title)
Runners-upItaly Milan
Tournament statistics
Matches played166
Goals scored486 (2.93 per match)
Attendance258,941 (1,560 per match)
Top scorer(s)Amin Chiakha (Copenhagen)
Rodrigo Mora (Porto)
7 goals each

The 2023–24 UEFA Youth League was the tenth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

The title holders were AZ, who defeated Hajduk Split 5–0 in the previous edition's final, but they were eliminated in the round of 16. Olympiacos beat Milan 3–0 in the final held at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland, to secure their first title in the competition and become the first Greek team to ever win a UEFA club competition (the club's senior team won the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final five weeks later).

Teams

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A total of 64 teams from 35 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 2023–24 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 2023 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.

Antwerp, Braga, Dinamo Minsk, Famalicão, İstanbul Başakşehir, Klaipėdos, Lazio, Lecce, Lens, Mainz, Newcastle, Pafos, Partizan, Sarajevo, Union Berlin, and Universitatea Craiova made their tournament debuts.[1]

Qualified teams for 2023–24 UEFA Youth League[1]
Rank Association Teams
UEFA Champions League Path Domestic Champions Path
1  England
2  Spain
3  Italy Lecce (2022–23 Campionato Primavera 1)
4  Germany Mainz 05 (2022–23 A-Junioren-Bundesliga)
5  France Nantes (2022–23 Championnat National U19)
6  Portugal Famalicão (2022–23 Campeonato Nacional Juniores S19)
7  Netherlands
AZ[TH][V-RUS]
8  Austria Red Bull Salzburg[YC] (2022–23 Jugendliga U18)[3]
9  Scotland Celtic Hamilton Academical (2022–23 Scottish U18 League)
11  Serbia Red Star Belgrade Partizan (2022–23 Serbian U19 League)
12  Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Rukh Lviv (2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League Under-19)
13  Belgium Antwerp[PO] Gent (2022–23 Belgian U18 League)
14  Switzerland Young Boys[PO] Basel (2022–23 Swiss U18 League)
15  Greece Olympiacos (2022–23 Superleague K19)
16  Czech Republic Sparta Prague (2022–23 Czech U19 League)
17  Norway Molde (2022 Norwegian U19 Cup)
18  Denmark Copenhagen[PO] Midtjylland (2022–23 U19 Ligaen)
19  Croatia Dinamo Zagreb (2022–23 1. HNL Juniori U19)
20  Turkey Galatasaray[PO] İstanbul Başakşehir (2022–23 U19 Elit)
21  Cyprus Pafos (2022–23 Cypriot U19 League)
22  Israel Maccabi Haifa (2022–23 Israeli U19 Noar Premier League)
23  Sweden Malmö FF (2022 P17 Allsvenskan)
24  Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (2022–23 U18 BFU Cup)
25  Romania Universitatea Craiova (2022–23 Liga de Tineret)
26  Azerbaijan Gabala (2022–23 Azerbaijani U19 League)
27  Hungary Puskás Akadémia (2022–23 Hungarian U19 League)
28  Poland Lech Poznań (2022–23 Polish U18 Central Junior League)
29  Kazakhstan Turan (2022 Kazakhstani U17 League)
30  Slovakia Žilina (2022–23 Slovak U19 League)
31  Slovenia Maribor (2022–23 Slovenian U19 League)
32  Belarus Dinamo Minsk (2022 Belarusian U18 League)
33  Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol[V-YC] (2022–23 Divizia Națională U19)
34  Lithuania Klaipėdos[V-YC] (2022 Lithuanian Elite Youth League U19 Division)
35  Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo[V-YC] (2022–23 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 Junior League)
36  Finland HJK[V-PO] (2022 U17 B-Junior League)
Associations without any participating teams
(no teams qualified for UEFA Champions League group stage, and either with no youth domestic competition or not ranked high enough for a vacancy)
Rank Association
10  Russia[Note RUS]
37  Luxembourg
38  Latvia
39  Kosovo
40  Republic of Ireland
41  Armenia
42  Northern Ireland
Rank Association
43  Albania
44  Faroe Islands
45  Estonia
46  Malta
47  Georgia
48  North Macedonia
49  Liechtenstein
Rank Association
50  Wales
51  Gibraltar
52  Iceland
53  Montenegro
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-YC Teams playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancies of teams which qualified for the Champions League group stage automatically.
  5. 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.
  6. ^
    Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[5]

Round and draw dates

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The schedule of the competition was as follows.[6]

  • 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 2023–24 UEFA Youth League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
UEFA Champions League Path
Group stage
Matchday 1 31 August 2023 19–20 September 2023
Matchday 2 3–4 October 2023
Matchday 3 24–25 October 2023
Matchday 4 7–8 November 2023
Matchday 5 28–29 November 2023
Matchday 6 12–13 December 2023
Domestic Champions Path First round 5 September 2023 4 October 2023 25 October 2023
Second round 8 November 2023 29 November 2023
Knockout phase Play-offs 19 December 2023 6–7 February 2024
Round of 16 9 February 2024 27–28 February 2024
Quarter-finals 12–13 March 2024
Semi-finals 19 April 2024 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon
Final 22 April 2024 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon

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 2023–24 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 31 August 2023.[7]

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 CPH BAY GAL MUN
1 Denmark Copenhagen 6 4 1 1 18 7 +11 13 Advance to round of 16 3–2 6–0 2–2
2 Germany Bayern Munich 6 4 0 2 11 7 +4 12 Advance to play-offs 2–1 2–1 2–0
3 Turkey Galatasaray 6 2 0 4 5 17 −12 6 1–5 2–1 1–0
4 England Manchester United 6 1 1 4 5 8 −3 4 0–1 0–2 3–0
Source: UEFA

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEN SEV PSV ARS
1 France Lens 6 4 1 1 7 4 +3 13 Advance to round of 16 1–1 2–1 1–0
2 Spain Sevilla 6 2 3 1 6 5 +1 9 Advance to play-offs 0–1 1–0 2–1
3 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 6 2 1 3 7 8 −1 7 2–0 1–1 1–3
4 England Arsenal 6 1 1 4 6 9 −3 4 0–2 1–1 1–2
Source: UEFA

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RMA BRA NAP UNB
1 Spain Real Madrid 6 4 2 0 14 1 +13 14 Advance to round of 16 0–0 6–0 2–1
2 Portugal Braga 6 3 3 0 8 3 +5 12 Advance to play-offs 0–0 1–0 1–0
3 Italy Napoli 6 1 1 4 4 17 −13 4 0–4 2–2 1–0
4 Germany Union Berlin 6 1 0 5 6 11 −5 3 0–2 1–4 4–1
Source: UEFA

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAL INT BEN RSO
1 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 6 4 2 0 16 8 +8 14 Advance to round of 16 1–1 4–2 5–2
2 Italy Inter Milan 6 1 4 1 9 9 0 7 Advance to play-offs 2–3 1–1 1–0
3 Portugal Benfica 6 1 3 2 8 10 −2 6 1–1 1–1 2–1
4 Spain Real Sociedad 6 1 1 4 8 14 −6 4 0–2 3–3 2–1
Source: UEFA

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FEY ATM LAZ CEL
1 Netherlands Feyenoord 6 4 1 1 13 7 +6 13 Advance to round of 16 0–1 2–2 3–0
2 Spain Atlético Madrid 6 4 0 2 10 3 +7 12 Advance to play-offs 1–2 0–1 4–0
3 Italy Lazio 6 1 2 3 5 10 −5 5 1–3 0–2 0–2
4 Scotland Celtic 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 2–3 0–2 1–1
Source: UEFA

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MIL DOR NEW PAR
1 Italy Milan 6 4 0 2 14 8 +6 12 Advance to round of 16 4–1 4–0 3–2
2 Germany Borussia Dortmund 6 3 1 2 9 9 0 10 Advance to play-offs 1–2 2–2 2–0
3 England Newcastle United 6 2 1 3 8 11 −3 7 3–1 1–2 0–1
4 France Paris Saint-Germain 6 2 0 4 5 8 −3 6 1–0 0–1 1–2
Source: UEFA

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MCI RBL RSB YB
1 England Manchester City 6 4 2 0 17 6 +11 14 Advance to round of 16 2–1 5–2 3–0
2 Germany RB Leipzig 6 3 2 1 8 5 +3 11 Advance to play-offs 1–1 2–1 0–0
3 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 6 1 1 4 8 13 −5 4[a] 2–2 0–1 2–1
4 Switzerland Young Boys 6 1 1 4 4 13 −9 4[a] 0–4 1–3 2–1
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to head record.

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification POR BAR SHK ANT
1 Portugal Porto 6 5 0 1 17 5 +12 15[a] Advance to round of 16 0–2 2–0 3–1
2 Spain Barcelona 6 5 0 1 12 5 +7 15[a] Advance to play-offs 0–4 2–0 2–1
3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 6 2 0 4 6 13 −7 6 1–4 0–3 3–1
4 Belgium Antwerp 6 0 0 6 5 17 −12 0 1–4 0–3 1–2
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Porto 3, Barcelona 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Porto +2, Barcelona –2.

Domestic Champions Path

[edit]

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 5 September 2023.

The eight second round winners advanced to the play-offs, where they would 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 3 and 4 October and the second legs were played on 8, 24, and 25 October 2023.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Lech Poznań Poland 1–1 (2–4 p) France Nantes 1–1 0–0
Pafos Cyprus 0–6 Slovakia Žilina 0–1 0–5
Rukh Lviv Ukraine 4–2 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 1–1 3–1
Sparta Prague Czech Republic 4–1 Israel Maccabi Haifa 1–1 3–0 (awd.)[note 1]
AZ Netherlands 14–0 Lithuania Klaipėda 12–0 2–0
Malmö FF Sweden 3–5 Finland HJK 1–4 2–1
Molde Norway 5–4 Scotland Hamilton Academical 3–0 2–4
Famalicão Portugal 2–2 (6–7 p) Denmark Midtjylland 2–2 0–0
Turan Kazakhstan 0–6 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 0–1 0–5
Universitatea Craiova Romania 0–5 Serbia Partizan 0–1 0–4
Olympiacos Greece 6–2 Italy Lecce 3–1 3–1
Dinamo Minsk Belarus 2–1 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 0–1 2–0
Maribor Slovenia 1–3 Germany Mainz 05 0–2 1–1
Gent Belgium 0–3 Switzerland Basel 0–1 0–2
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia 5–2 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 2–1 3–1
Gabala Azerbaijan 2–1 Hungary Puskás Akadémia 1–1 1–0
Notes
  1. ^ Due to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Maccabi Haifa withdrew from the competition.[8]

Second round

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The first legs were played on 7, 8, and 29 November and the second legs were played on 22, 28, 29 November, and 3 December 2023.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Rukh Lviv Ukraine 1–4 Denmark Midtjylland 0–4 1–0
Nantes France 1–1 (4–3 p) Finland HJK 1–0 0–1
Molde Norway 3–6 Netherlands AZ 3–4 0–2
Sparta Prague Czech Republic 6–6 (2–4 p) Slovakia Žilina 2–2 4–4
Basel Switzerland 2–0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 2–0 0–0
Gabala Azerbaijan 0–7 Greece Olympiacos 0–3 0–4
Mainz 05 Germany 3–2 Belarus Dinamo Minsk 1–1 2–1
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova 4–5 Serbia Partizan 2–0 2–5

Knockout phase

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Bracket

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Play-offsRound of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
                  
7 February
Switzerland Basel0
28 February
Germany Bayern Munich2
Germany Bayern Munich 3
Netherlands Feyenoord2
12 March
Germany Bayern Munich1
7 February
Greece Olympiacos3
Greece Olympiacos (p)0 (6)
28 February
Italy Inter Milan0 (5)
Greece Olympiacos (p)2 (4)
France Lens2 (2)
19 April – Colovray Stadium
Greece Olympiacos (p)0 (3)
7 February
France Nantes0 (1)
France Nantes (p)3 (3)
28 February
Spain Sevilla3 (2)
Austria Red Bull Salzburg0
France Nantes1
12 March
France Nantes (p)3 (5)
7 February
Denmark Copenhagen3 (4)
Slovakia Žilina2
27 February
Germany Borussia Dortmund1
Slovakia Žilina 1 (2)
Denmark Copenhagen (p)1 (4)
22 April – Colovray Stadium
Greece Olympiacos 3
6 February
Italy Milan0
Germany Mainz 05 (p)2 (6)
27 February
Spain Barcelona2 (5)
Germany Mainz 052
England Manchester City1
13 March
Germany Mainz 051
7 February
Portugal Porto4
Netherlands AZ1
27 February
Spain Atlético Madrid0
Netherlands AZ1 (3)
Portugal Porto (p)1 (4)
19 April – Colovray Stadium
Portugal Porto 2 (3)
7 February
Italy Milan (p)2 (4)
Serbia Partizan0
28 February
Portugal Braga2
Italy Milan (p)2 (4)
Portugal Braga2 (2)
13 March
Italy Milan (p)1 (4)
6 February
Spain Real Madrid1 (3)
Denmark Midtjylland1 (2)
28 February
Germany RB Leipzig (p)1 (4)
Spain Real Madrid2
Germany RB Leipzig 0

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 19 December 2023 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[9] The play-offs were played over one leg on 6 and 7 February 2024.[10]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Basel Switzerland 0–2 Germany Bayern Munich
Partizan Serbia 0–2 Portugal Braga
Olympiacos Greece 0–0 (6–5 p) Italy Inter Milan
Žilina Slovakia 2–1 Germany Borussia Dortmund
Nantes France 3–3 (3–2 p) Spain Sevilla
Mainz 05 Germany 2–2 (6–5 p) Spain Barcelona
Midtjylland Denmark 1–1 (2–4 p) Germany RB Leipzig
AZ Netherlands 1–0 Spain Atlético Madrid

Round of 16

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The draw was conducted on 9 February 2024 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The round of 16 was played over one leg on 27 and 28 February 2024.[11]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
AZ Netherlands 1–1 (3–4 p) Portugal Porto
Milan Italy 2–2 (4–2 p) Portugal Braga
Real Madrid Spain 2–0 Germany RB Leipzig
Žilina Slovakia 1–1 (2–4 p) Denmark Copenhagen
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 0–1 France Nantes
Olympiacos Greece 2–2 (4–2 p) France Lens
Bayern Munich Germany 3–2 Netherlands Feyenoord
Mainz 05 Germany 2–1 England Manchester City

Quarter-finals

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The draw was conducted on 9 February 2024 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The quarter-finals were played over one leg on 12 and 13 March 2024.[12]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Mainz 05 Germany 1–4 Portugal FC Porto
Nantes France 3–3 (5–4 p) Denmark Copenhagen
Bayern Munich Germany 1–3 Greece Olympiacos
Milan Italy 1–1 (4–3 p) Spain Real Madrid

Semi-finals

[edit]

The draw was conducted on 9 February 2024 at 13:00 CET in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The semi-finals were played over one leg on 19 April 2024.[13]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Olympiacos Greece 0–0 (3–1 p) France Nantes
FC Porto Portugal 2–2 (3–4 p) Italy Milan

Final

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The final was played on 22 April 2024 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon.[14]

Olympiacos Greece3–0Italy Milan
Report
Attendance: 2,026
Referee: John Brooks (England)

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Rank[15] Player Team Goals Matches played
1 Denmark Amin Chiakha Denmark Copenhagen 7 8
Portugal Rodrigo Mora Portugal Porto 9
3 Greece Christos Mouzakitis Greece Olympiacos 6 8
Guinea-Bissau Anhá Candé Portugal Porto 9
5 Netherlands Yoël van den Ban Netherlands AZ 5 6
Netherlands Yannick Eduardo Germany RB Leipzig 7
Greece Charalampos Kostoulas Greece Olympiacos 8
Italy Diego Sia Italy Milan 10
Slovakia Vladimír Vaľko Slovakia Žilina 5
10 Twelve players 4

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Which teams are in the 2023/24 Youth League?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Man City secure fourth successive under-18 Premier League title with dominant win at Sunderland". Manchester Evening News. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Akademie-Ligen: So lief die Saison". laola1.at (in German). Laola1. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  6. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ^ "UEFA Champions League group stage draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  8. ^ "European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023. Due to the current situation, Maccabi Haifa Youth team has withdrawn its participation from the domestic champions path of this season's UEFA Youth League. UEFA has taken note and confirmed that AC Sparta Praha Youth team is therefore qualified to the Round 2 of the domestic champions path.
  9. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League play-off ties". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 December 2023.
  12. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 December 2023.
  13. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 December 2023.
  14. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Youth League dates, format | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 December 2023.
  15. ^ "UEFA Youth League – Top Scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
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