2019–20 UEFA Europa League
The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne hosted the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 27 June – 29 August 2019 Competition proper: 19 September 2019 – 21 August 2020 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 48+8 Total: 158+55 (from 55 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Sevilla (6th title) |
| Runners-up | Inter Milan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 197 |
| Goals scored | 548 (2.78 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,069,102 (20,655 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/ Manchester United) 8 goals |
| Best player(s) | Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) |
Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the final, played at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, 3–2 for a record sixth title in the competition. As winners, Sevilla earned the right to play against Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. Since they had already qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage through their league performance, the berth originally reserved for the Europa League title holders was given to the third-placed team of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 (Rennes), the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was suspended in mid-March 2020 and resumed in August. The quarter-finals onwards were played as a single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Germany (RheinEnergieStadion, MSV-Arena, Merkur Spiel-Arena, Arena AufSchalke) behind closed doors from 10 to 21 August. The video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition from the knockout stage onwards.
As the title holders of the Europa League, Chelsea qualified for the 2019–20 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 the ultimate winners Bayern Munich in the round of 16.