Will the away goals rule be used in Man Utd’s Europa League tie against Sevilla? UEFA rules explained

Manchester United are bidding to keep alive their hopes of securing a second major trophy of the season when they visit La Liga club Sevilla on Thursday night.

A Manuel Sabitzer brace looked to have put Erik ten Hag’s side in control of their Europa League quarter-final tie in the first leg at Old Trafford last Thursday - but their Spanish visitors hit back as United duo Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire found their own net in the final ten minutes.

All eyes now head towards the second leg at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium as the Red Devils look to progress into their fourth European semi-final in the last eight seasons. But how could the tie play out and will away goals be taken into consideration should the aggregate scores remain level?

Will away goals count in the tie?

No, the away goals rule has not been utilised in any European competition since it was abolished at the end of the 2020/21 season. Any ties that are tied on aggregate after 90 minutes will go to 30 minutes of extra-time and a penalty shoot-out will take place is the scores remain level.

Speaking after the announcement was made, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965. However, the question of its abolition has been debated at various UEFA meetings over the last few years. Although there was no unanimity of views, many coaches, fans and other football stakeholders have questioned its fairness and have expressed a preference for the rule to be abolished.”

“The impact of the rule now runs counter to its original purpose as, in fact, it now dissuades home teams – especially in first legs – from attacking, because they fear conceding a goal that would give their opponents a crucial advantage. There is also criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to score twice when the away team has scored.”

“It is fair to say that home advantage is nowadays no longer as significant as it once was. Taking into consideration the consistency across Europe in terms of styles of play, and many different factors which have led to a decline in home advantage, the UEFA Executive Committee has taken the correct decision in adopting the view that it is no longer appropriate for an away goal to carry more weight than one scored at home.”

What lies ahead for the winners of the tie?

United will face a two-legged semi-final clash with either Juventus or Sporting CP if they can come through the second leg of their quarter-final tie with Sevilla. Juve will take a narrow advantage to Portugal on Thursday night after Federico Gatti grabbed the only goal of last week’s first leg in Turin. The other semi-final will be between the winners of the tie between Bayer Leverkusen and Union Saint-Gilloise take on either Feyenoord or Roma.