Great game between Man. U and Milan yesterday. I have a question - the web sites I looked at are talking about “legs”, and seem to indicate that there will be another game between the same teams? How does that work - obviously they can’t play best of 2? Or am I confused?
The aggregate score of two games, one at each team’s home ground, is the final result.
(If the aggregate score is a draw, the away goals rule applies: if the second match in Milan is 2-1, then the aggregate score is 4-4, but Milan win due to having scored 2 at Old Trafford while Man Ure only scored one in Milan. If this system doesn’t provide a final result, e.g. if it’s 3-2 in Milan making 5-5 aggregate with two away goals each, then it’s extra time and penalties.)
They play each other twice - once at each team’s home stadium. The team which scores the greater number of goals (combined between the two games) goes on to the next round. If there is a tie on aggregate goals, the “away goals rule” applies - i.e. the team which has scored more goals in the “away” location wins.
They play two “legs” - one match at home and one away. The overall score from the two games is what counts, with a couple of complications.
For example - last night was Man Utd 3 Milan 2, played at Old Trafford
Next Wednesday they will play again at the San Siro. The important thing to notice is that in the first leg, Milan scored two “away” goals. This leaves some possible outcomes of the second leg thus:
Milan 0 - 0 Utd = Utd win over all 3 goals to 2
Milan 1 - 0 Utd = Milan win. Overall score is 3-3, but Milan get extra credit for scoring away
Milan 1 - 1 Utd = Utd win 4 to 3
Milan 2 - 1 Utd = Milan win. Overall score is 4-4, but Milan get credit for second away goal
Milan 2 - 2 Utd = Utd win 5 to 4
Milan 3 - 2 Utd = Extra time of 30 mins, both teams having scored two away… If still drawn, penalties. This is the only score that can result in extra time.
Any other draw is a Utd win, any score with Milan scoring two more than Utd = Milan win, Any Utd win = Utd win.
Make any sense?
ETA concision was never my strong point
Soccer is never played as a “series” (best of 3, 5, or 7) – it’s usually either a single match on a neutral pitch, or 2 games – home and away. anything by identical-and-opposite scores in the two games (e.g., 2:1 and 1:2; or two 1:1 draws) results in a clear victor. It works like this (Assume game 1 is at team “A”'s home, and all scores are “Team A”:“Team B”):
- If team “A” wins both games, or wins one and the other is a draw, team “A” is the victor.
- If team “A” wins one of the games by a difference of N goals, and team “B” wins the other game by a difference of M < N goals (e.g., 4:2 and 1:2 respectively), team “A” is the victor.
- If each team wins one game by a difference of N goals, or both games are draws, the team with more away goals is the victor (e.g., 3:1 and 2:4 – team “A” has two away goals to team “B”'s single away goal, and is thus the victor; 1:1 and 2:2 – same story)
- If both games end in identical-but-opposite scores (or identical draws) – e.g., 2:1 and 1:2; or 1:1 and again 1:1 – the second game goes into a 30-minute overtime. Any scoring during overtime will produce a victor by one of the rules above.
- If there is no scoring during overtime, each team kicks 5 penalty shots at the other. Either there is a victor at the end of this process or…
- Teams continue to kick a single penalty shot at the other team, until one team scores and the other misses, thus breaking the tie.
Hope this is clear 
ETA: Or… what everyone else said, and took far less time to type :smack:
I love you footie fans! 
More importantly, Chelsea beat them Scouser fucks 1-0 at Stamford Bridge today, putting them in good position for the second leg at Anfield (Liverpiddle failed to score away, so they have to win at home to advance).
The use of neutral grounds, except for finals and for some late stages of a knock-out competition, is rare.
In the FA Cup, for instance, earlier rounds are played at one team’s ground (the first of the two drawn out of the ballot), with a tied match being replayed at the other ground. The semifinals are played at a neutral venue, chosen to be large enough and also geographically somewhere between the two teams. This year, Watford-Man U was played at Villa Park (Birmingham), and Blackburn-Chelsea at Old Trafford. Wembley for the final.
The location for the Champion’s League final is different each time, Athens this year. Neutral grounds used to be used for earlier stages as well - I presume it was changed to give each team’s fans more of a chance of seeing the match (and was the fallout from Heysel perhaps part of the decision?)
Heh 
Man-Ure. I like it
Now then all together “Come on Milan, beat those red fuckers”
Actually, I’ve got the point where I wouldn’t mind which red fuckers win, just for it to be at the expense of the dirty cheating blue ones.
Manchester City are dirty?
I’m just glad you didn’t say Ipswich. Glad for your sake
(Edit - at least West Brom have beaten us to the bottom of the Championship Fair Play league at the moment…)
I became a Chelsea supporter back in the late-'70s when they were in the old Second Division and in danger of being relegated further, so I have no problem embracing “our” current succes and condoning the misery of everyone else left in “our” blue wake.
The looming Blue-Red showdowns in the Prem, CL (maybe), and FA Cup are making this an entertaining and historic season.