2020 AFC Champions League
File:AFC Champions League Final 2020, 19 December 2020, Persepolis vs Ulsan Hyundai (1-2) (74).jpg
The Ulsan Hyundai team holds the AFC Champions League trophy
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Tournament details | |
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Dates | Qualifying: 14–28 January 2020 Competition proper: 10 February – 19 December 2020 |
Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 52 (from 23 associations) |
Final positions | |
Champions | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 93 |
Goals scored | 236 (2.54 per match) |
Attendance | 182,388 (1,961 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() ![]() (7 goals each)[1] |
Best player | ![]() |
Fair play award | ![]() |
The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title.[3]
Ulsan Hyundai won their second Champions League title by defeating Persepolis 2–1 in the final.[4] Ulsan automatically qualify for the 2021 AFC Champions League (although they had already qualified through their domestic performance), the first time since 2008 that the AFC Champions League holders were guaranteed automatic qualification in the following year.[5][6] They also earned the right to play in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.
The tournament was the last to involve 32 teams during the group stage, which increased to 40 teams in 2021.[7]
The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia after group stage matches on 4 March 2020,[8] and restarted on 14 September 2020.[9] All matches after the restart were played in Qatar,[10][11][12] with the final played at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia were the defending champions, but the club effectively withdrew from the competition when they could not name the required 13 players for their final group stage match, as all but 11 players had tested positive for COVID-19.[13][14] For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was in use from the quarter-finals onwards.[15]
Contents
Association team allocation
The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[16]
- The associations were split into two regions:
- West Region consisted of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
- East Region consisted of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
- In each region, there were four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
- The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings were eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfilled the AFC Champions League criteria.
- The top six associations in each region got at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations got only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
- The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each got three direct slots and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each got two direct slots and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 5th each got one direct slot and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 6th each got one direct slot and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 7th to 12th each got one play-off slot.
- The maximum number of slots for each association was one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
- If any association gave up its direct slots, they were redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
- If any association gave up its play-off slots, they were annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
Association ranking
For the 2020 AFC Champions League, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[17] which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2014 and 2017.[16][18]
Participation for 2020 AFC Champions League | |
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Participating | |
Not participating |
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- Notes
- ^ Australia (AUS): The top division run by the Football Federation Australia, the A-League, only had nine Australia-based teams in the 2018–19 season, so Australia could only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4).[16]
- ^ Syria (SYR): Syria did not have any teams which had an AFC Champions League license.[19]
Teams
The following 52 teams from 23 associations entered the competition.
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
- Notes
- ^ Title holders (TH): Al-Hilal were the title holders.
- ^ Singapore (SIN): DPMM, the 2019 Singapore Premier League champions, were a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
- ^ Vietnam (VIE): Hà Nội, the 2019 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC license as their U15 team did not participate in Vietnam National U-15 Youth League.[20] As a result, Ho Chi Minh City, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
![2020 AFC Champions League is located in Asian Football Confederation](/w/images/thumb/3/31/AFC_location_map.png/900px-AFC_location_map.png)
![DSA Metropolitan DSA Metropolitan](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Riyadh Riyadh](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Qatar Qatar](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Tehran Tehran](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Tashkent Tashkent](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Baghdad Baghdad](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Seoul Capital Area Seoul Capital Area](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Shanghai Shanghai](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![West Kanto West Kanto](/w/images/thumb/4/46/Black_pog.svg/8px-Black_pog.svg.png)
![Baghdad teams Al-Shorta Al-Zawraa Tehran teams Persepolis Esteghlal Qatar teams Al-Sadd Al-Duhail Al-Sailiya Al-Rayyan Baghdad teams Al-Shorta Al-Zawraa Tehran teams Persepolis Esteghlal Qatar teams Al-Sadd Al-Duhail Al-Sailiya Al-Rayyan](/w/images/thumb/3/3a/TransparentPlaceholder.png/1px-TransparentPlaceholder.png)
![Riyadh teams Al-Nassr Al-Hilal DSA Metropolitan teams Sharjah Shabab Al-Ahli Tashkent teams Pakhtakor Tashkent Lokomotiv Tashkent Bunyodkor Riyadh teams Al-Nassr Al-Hilal DSA Metropolitan teams Sharjah Shabab Al-Ahli Tashkent teams Pakhtakor Tashkent Lokomotiv Tashkent Bunyodkor](/w/images/thumb/3/3a/TransparentPlaceholder.png/1px-TransparentPlaceholder.png)
DSA Metropolitan teams
Sharjah
Shabab Al-Ahli
Tashkent teams
Pakhtakor Tashkent
Lokomotiv Tashkent
![White pog.svg](/w/images/thumb/1/1a/White_pog.svg/8px-White_pog.svg.png)
![Shanghai teams Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai SIPG West Kanto teams Yokohama F. Marinos FC Tokyo Seoul Capital Area teams Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC Seoul Shanghai teams Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai SIPG West Kanto teams Yokohama F. Marinos FC Tokyo Seoul Capital Area teams Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC Seoul](/w/images/thumb/3/3a/TransparentPlaceholder.png/1px-TransparentPlaceholder.png)
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai SIPG
West Kanto teams
Yokohama F. Marinos
FC Tokyo
Seoul Capital Area teams
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
![Green pog.svg](/w/images/thumb/a/ab/Green_pog.svg/8px-Green_pog.svg.png)
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[21] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only some of the group stage matches on matchdays 1–3 in February and March were played as scheduled, and all matches on matchdays 4–6 were postponed until further notice.[8] The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were also initially moved to 10–12 and 24–26 August, 14–16 and 28–30 September, and 20–21 and 27–28 October.[22][23]
The AFC announced the calendar of the remaining matches on 9 July 2020, with all matches before the final played at centralised venues, and all knockout ties played as a single match.[9] On 10 September 2020, the AFC announced the new dates for the East Region matches and the final.[24]
Notes:
- W: West Region
- E: East Region
- Italics: new dates after restart
Stage | Round | Draw date | Match dates |
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Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | No draw | 14 January 2020 |
Preliminary round 2 | 21 January 2020 | ||
Play-off stage | Play-off round | 28 January 2020 | |
Group stage | Matchday 1 | 10 December 2019 | 10–12 February 2020, 18–19 November 2020 (E) |
Matchday 2 | 17–19 February 2020, 21–22 November 2020 (E) | ||
Matchday 3 | 3–4 March 2020 (E), 14–15 September 2020 (W), 24–25 November 2020 (E) | ||
Matchday 4 | 17–18 September 2020 (W), 27–28 November 2020 (E) | ||
Matchday 5 | 20–21 September 2020 (W), 30 November – 1 December 2020 (E) | ||
Matchday 6 | 23–24 September 2020 (W), 3–4 December 2020 (E) | ||
Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 26–27 September 2020 (W), 6–7 December 2020 (E) | |
Quarter-finals | 28 September 2020 (W) 8 December 2020 (E) |
30 September 2020 (W), 10 December 2020 (E) | |
Semi-finals | 3 October 2020 (W), 13 December 2020 (E) | ||
Final | 19 December 2020 |
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.
Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
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Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | No draw | 14 January 2020 | |
Preliminary round 2 | 21 January 2020 | |||
Play-off stage | Play-off round | 28 January 2020 | ||
Group stage | Matchday 1 | 10 December 2019 | 10–12 February 2020 | |
Matchday 2 | 17–19 February 2020 | |||
Matchday 3 | 2–4 March 2020 | |||
Matchday 4 | 6–8 April 2020 | |||
Matchday 5 | 20–22 April 2020 | |||
Matchday 6 | 4–6 May 2020 | |||
Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 18–19 May 2020 (W), 26–27 May 2019 (E) |
25–26 May 2020 (W), 16–17 June 2020 (E) |
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Quarter-finals | TBD | 24–26 August 2020 | 14–16 September 2020 | |
Semi-finals | 29–30 September 2020 | 20–21 October 2020 | ||
Final | 22 November 2020 | 28 November 2020 |
Qualifying play-offs
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In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2).[3] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match.[25] Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie. The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.
Preliminary round 1
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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Chennai City ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
Al-Faisaly ![]() |
1–2 (a.e.t.) | ![]() |
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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Ceres–Negros ![]() |
3–2 | ![]() |
Tampines Rovers ![]() |
3–5 (a.e.t.) | ![]() |
Preliminary round 2
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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Bunyodkor ![]() |
4–1 | ![]() |
Lokomotiv Tashkent ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
Shahr Khodro ![]() |
2–1 | ![]() |
Esteghlal ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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Kedah ![]() |
5–1 | ![]() |
Buriram United ![]() |
2–1 | ![]() |
Port ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
Melbourne Victory ![]() |
5–0 | ![]() |
Play-off round
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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Al-Ain ![]() |
1–0 | ![]() |
Al-Ahli ![]() |
1–0 | ![]() |
Al-Sailiya ![]() |
0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) |
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Al-Rayyan ![]() |
0–5 | ![]() |
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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FC Seoul ![]() |
4–1 | ![]() |
Shanghai SIPG ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
FC Tokyo ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
Kashima Antlers ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
Group stage
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2020 AFC Champions League group stage 2020 AFC Champions League group stage
Tiebreakers |
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2020 AFC Champions League group stage |
Group A
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group B
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group C
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group D
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group E
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group F
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group G
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Group H
Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables
Knockout stage
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2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Bracket
2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Round of 16
2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Quarter-finals
2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Semi-finals
2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Final
2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Awards
Main awards
Award | Player | Team |
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Most Valuable Player[2] | ![]() |
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Top Scorer[1] | ![]() |
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Fair Play Award | ![]() |
Note: Abderrazak Hamdallah finished ahead of Júnior Negrão to win the Top Scorer award despite scoring the same number of goals, and also having the same number of assists (first tiebreaker), since he played fewer minutes throughout the competition (second tiebreaker).[1]
All Star Squad
Source:[26]
Position | Player | Team |
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Goalkeeper | ![]() |
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Defenders | ![]() |
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Midfielders | ![]() |
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Forwards | ![]() |
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Opta Best XI
Source:[27]
Position | Player | Team |
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Goalkeeper | ![]() |
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Defenders | ![]() |
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Midfielders | ![]() |
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Forwards | ![]() |
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Fans' awards
The AFC took polls of fans in its website after the tournament.
Award | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
Fans' Best Player | ![]() |
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Best Goal | ![]() |
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Position | Player | Team |
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Goalkeeper | ![]() |
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Defenders | ![]() |
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Midfielders | ![]() |
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Forwards | ![]() |
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Statistics
Statistical leaders
Category[29] | Player | Team | Figure |
---|---|---|---|
Goals | ![]() |
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7 |
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7 | |
Chances created | ![]() |
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22 |
Clearances | ![]() |
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34 |
Duels won | ![]() |
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54 |
Shooting accuracy | ![]() |
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61.1% |
Passing accuracy | ![]() |
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91.6% |
Saves | ![]() |
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26 |
Top scorers
Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | R16 | QF | SF | F | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
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1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||
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1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
3 | ![]() |
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1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
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2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
5 | ![]() |
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1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
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1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
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1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
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2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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2 | 2 | ||||||||||
10 | ![]() |
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1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
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1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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1 | 2 | ||||||||||
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1 | 2 | ||||||||||
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1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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1 | 2 | ||||||||||
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2 | 1 | ||||||||||
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1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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3 | |||||||||||
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1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
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2 | 1 |
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[3]
Toyota Player of the Week awards
Stage | Matchday | Player of the Week | Team | Ref. |
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Group stage | Matchday 1 | ![]() |
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[30] |
Matchday 2 | ![]() |
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[31] | |
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[32] | ||
Matchday 3 – East | ![]() |
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[33] | |
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[34] | ||
Matchday 3 – West | ![]() |
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[35] | |
Matchday 4 – East | ![]() |
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[36] | |
Matchday 4 – West | ![]() |
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[37] | |
Matchday 5 – East | ![]() |
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[38] | |
Matchday 5 – West | ![]() |
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[39] | |
Matchday 6 – East | ![]() |
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[40] | |
Matchday 6 – West | ![]() |
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[41] | |
Knockout stage | Round of 16 – East | ![]() |
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[42] |
Round of 16 – West | ![]() |
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[43] | |
Quarter-finals – East | ![]() |
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[44] | |
Quarter-finals – West | ![]() |
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[45] | |
Semi-finals – East | ![]() |
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[46] | |
Semi-finals – West | ![]() |
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[47] |
See also
References
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External links
- AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com
- AFC Champions League 2020, stats.the-AFC.com
- Pages with reference errors
- Articles with short description
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hatnote templates targeting a nonexistent page
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 2020 AFC Champions League
- 2020 in Asian football
- AFC Champions League seasons
- Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic