The 2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 7 May to 10 November 2018.[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2018 AFC Champions League.[2]
Qualified teams
The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage advanced to the round of 16, with both West Region (Groups A–D) and East Region (Groups E–H) having eight qualified teams.
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).[2]
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1] Matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the East Region were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Round
First leg
Second leg
Round of 16
7–9 May 2018
14–16 May 2018
Quarter-finals
27–29 August 2018
17–19 September 2018
Semi-finals
2–3 October 2018
23–24 October 2018
Final
3 November 2018
10 November 2018
Bracket
The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:
Round
Matchups
Round of 16
(Group winners host second leg)
West Region
Runner-up Group A vs. Winner Group C
Runner-up Group C vs. Winner Group A
Runner-up Group B vs. Winner Group D
Runner-up Group D vs. Winner Group B
East Region
Runner-up Group E vs. Winner Group G
Runner-up Group G vs. Winner Group E
Runner-up Group F vs. Winner Group H
Runner-up Group H vs. Winner Group F
Quarter-finals
(Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, involving four round of 16 winners each in West Region and East Region)
West Region
QF1
QF2
East Region
QF3
QF4
Semi-finals
(Winners QF1 and QF3 host first leg, Winners QF2 and QF4 host second leg)
West Region
SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
East Region
SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4
Final
(Winner SF2 host first leg, Winner SF1 host second leg, as reversed from previous season's final)
Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2
The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4][5]
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 23 May 2018.[5] In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.
3–3 on aggregate. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won 4–2 on penalties.
Semi-finals
Summary
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the East Region, second leg hosted by team from the West Region) reversed from the previous season's final.
Al-Ahli
Al-Jazira
Al-Duhail
Zob Ahan
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Tianjin Quanjian
Buriram United
Kashima Antlers
