Penalty shoot-out
A penalty shoot-out is the contest used to settle a tie that remains level after extra time. Each club takes a series of kicks, and the side that scores more of them advances or wins the trophy.
Why it matters
It matters because it guarantees a result. If two clubs cannot be separated in open play, the shoot-out provides a decisive ending, and it turns a tie into a contest of nerve as much as of skill.
Where it is used
It is used after extra time in the final and in two-legged ties. When the score is still level, the kicks decide the outcome, and the shoot-out becomes the last event of the night, watched by the whole stadium.
How to read it
Read the shoot-out as a separate contest. It is not a continuation of the match but a new test, and the club that keeps its composure over the kicks advances, whatever happened in the ninety minutes before.
What it means
the contest from the spot that settles a tie still level
Penalty shoot-out is one of the working terms of the competition. This entry explains it as a mechanism that holds true from season to season, so it can be read on its own or alongside the other entries in the glossary of the tournament.
- Settles a tie still level after extra time.
- Each club takes a series of kicks.
- The side scoring more advances.
- A contest of nerve as well as skill.
- A separate test from the match itself.
- The last event of the night.