Away goals rule to be scrapped in Europe?

tmracht

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Aug 19, 2009
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So this would be different than the earlier proposal in April when away goals would only count in the normal time, then not count in extra time?
 

Tangled Up In Red

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I don't think it is the fairest way to decide an outcome, but man, do I love what it does for the excitement and the football it forces.
 
So extra time followed by PKs? How is that better, at least the PK part?
You can argue whether or not the likely increase in number of matches that go to extra time and indeed penalties is a good thing. (It probably isn't.) But I think it's unquestionably a good thing to incentivize the home team in both legs to attack and not just play cautiously for fear of conceding one or more away goals - this should increase the quality of football we see throughout both legs. And the fact that the home team doesn't effectively fall 1.5 goals behind if it concedes first in extra time after the first 180 minutes is up would also be a good thing.
 

Joe D Reid

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I think we're forgetting how bad the old first-leg away strategy of "play for 0-0" was. As between discouraging the home team to attack and discouraging the road team to attack, the latter is worse. Although I do agree about the ET tweak.
 

Senator Donut

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I’ve always viewed away goals as arbitrary and needlessly complex, but it does introduce the fun scenario of a team going from trailing to leading on a single goal, so I’ve learned to live with it. Other competitions, such as Serie B playoffs or Liga MX Liguilla, have recreated this drama by advancing the better seeded team in case of a tie, but you can’t really do this in an international competition.
 

Vinho Tinto

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Other competitions, such as Serie B playoffs or Liga MX Liguilla, have recreated this drama by advancing the better seeded team in case of a tie
I like that. Definitely better than away goals or penalties for a playoff format - as it gives value to the overall season.
 

Zososoxfan

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I’ve always viewed away goals as arbitrary and needlessly complex, but it does introduce the fun scenario of a team going from trailing to leading on a single goal, so I’ve learned to live with it. Other competitions, such as Serie B playoffs or Liga MX Liguilla, have recreated this drama by advancing the better seeded team in case of a tie, but you can’t really do this in an international competition.
The bolded is so key. That knife's edge is the best thing the away goals rule has to offer, but I agree that it's too strong of a disincentive for the home team to attack in the first leg. If there's a proposal that can balance that, I'm for it!
 
That knife's edge is the best thing the away goals rule has to offer
I don't particularly like the knife's edge you're talking about - in part because it cuts both ways. One of my least favorite invocations of the away goals rule was the Champions League quarterfinal between Arsenal and Chelsea in 2004 which finished 1-1 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, and was 1-1 in the second leg at Highbury until Wayne Bridge scored in the 87th minute for Chelsea. So from 2-2 on aggregate, in a flash Arsenal needed to score two goals in the last three minutes plus injury time: instead of at least having a chance to find a dramatic late equalizer, there almost wasn't any point in playing on from there. Even the specific situation you've mentioned - going from trailing to leading in an instant - is fundamentally strange in a sport in which goals/points are scored one at a time; there's certainly an element of drama to it that I used to love, but over time it's come to feel unnatural to me.

One idea would be to only invoke the away goals rule at the end of 210 minutes, not after 180 minutes. I think some two-legged English competitions have used that formulation in the past (e.g., promotion playoffs and/or the League Cup semifinals?); I myself would still scrap the away goals rule altogether, but at least this alternative would extend its usage beyond extra time and restrict it to a final alternative to a penalty shootout.