The 2017 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 22 May to 25 November 2017. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2017 AFC Champions League.
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.
RegionGroupWinnersRunners-upWest RegionA Al-Ahli EsteghlalB Lekhwiya Esteghlal KhuzestanC Al-Ain Al-AhliD Al-Hilal PersepolisEast RegionE Kashima Antlers Muangthong UnitedF Urawa Red Diamonds Shanghai SIPGG Kawasaki Frontale Guangzhou EvergrandeH Jiangsu Suning Jeju United
Format
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 would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).
Schedule The schedule of each round was as follows. Matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the East Region were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
RoundFirst legSecond legRound of 1622–24 May 201729–31 May 2017Quarter-finals21–23 August 201711–13 September 2017Semi-finals26–27 September 201717–18 October 2017Final18 November 201725 November 2017
Bracket The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:
RoundMatchupsRound 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 FQuarter-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 QF4Semi-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 QF4Final(Winner SF1 host first leg, Winner SF2 host second leg, as reversed from previous season's final) Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 6 June 2017, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Round of 16
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the matchups determined by the group stage draw, and the group winners hosting the second leg.
|+West Region
|+East Region
West Region
Al-Ain won 6–2 on aggregate.
Al-Ahli (KSA) won 4–2 on aggregate.
Al-Hilal won 4–2 on aggregate.
Persepolis won 1–0 on aggregate.
East Region
Kawasaki Frontale won 7–2 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Guangzhou Evergrande won on away goals.
Shanghai SIPG won 5–3 on aggregate.
Urawa Red Diamonds won 3–2 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 6 June 2017. 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.
|+West Region
|+East Region
West Region
Al Hilal won 3–0 on aggregate.
Persepolis won 5–3 on aggregate.
East Region
5–5 on aggregate. Shanghai SIPG won 5–4 on penalties.
Urawa Red Diamonds won 5–4 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
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.
|+West Region
|+East Region
West Region
Al Hilal won 6–2 on aggregate.
East Region
Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final.
Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.
Note
References
External links , the-AFC.com AFC Champions League 2017, stats.the-AFC.com