In the usual 2026/27 Champions League knockout format, a club plays its opponent home and away, and the greater aggregate of goals determines progression. The score of the second match is only one part of that total. Keep both legs and the aggregate separate when describing who won a match and who advanced from the tie.
Check the format before adding scores
UEFA’s Article 20 identifies two-leg knockout ties except the final, while allowing UEFA to specify a one-leg arrangement when circumstances require it. Establish the actual event format and stage before applying a two-leg example. The league phase is also a different format.
A fixture request needs the leg number as well as the competition, season and clubs. A first-leg result can be complete as a match result while the tie remains unresolved. A television listing using the same clubs on another date can therefore be a different match within the same tie.
Keep the same club first in your worksheet
The following example is fictional. Both rows are written from Harbour’s perspective even though the second game is played at Orchard’s ground.
| Invented record | Harbour goals | Orchard goals |
|---|---|---|
| First leg | 3 | 1 |
| Second leg | 0 | 2 |
| Aggregate | 3 | 3 |
State the result at both levels
Orchard wins the invented second leg 2–0, while the aggregate is 3–3. Neither of those statements contradicts the other. The useful explanation gives the match result and then the tie state instead of saying only that Orchard has won.
Using a fixed team order avoids a common addition error: adding the home team’s score from one row to the home team’s score from another row as though they belong to the same club. Label columns with club names before adding. Mark whether the second leg has finished as well; an aggregate shown during play describes the current tie state rather than its completed outcome. The venue and scoreboard orientation can change while the club identity stays the same.
Use the applicable tie-resolution rule
UEFA’s Article 21 says equal goals over the two legs lead to two 15-minute extra-time periods at the end of the second leg. If the teams remain level through extra time, a penalty shoot-out determines progression. Use the confirmed match record for any actual extra-time or shoot-out outcome.
Do not turn this example into a rule for every cup competition or an exceptional one-leg tie. Check the applicable organiser’s current edition. When planning a viewing window, allow for the possibility that a tie-resolution procedure can extend the session, without claiming a guaranteed finish time. This article supplies no current fixture, result or Hot IPTV entitlement; it explains the information required to interpret a two-leg tie.