UEFA Europa League 2021–22 was the 51st season of Europe’s secondary club football tournament organized by UEFA, and the 13th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the final played at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville, Spain, winning the competition for the second time in club history, and the first since 1980. The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with Budapest instead hosting the 2023 final. As winners, Eintracht Frankfurt automatically qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup.
Champions: 
Eintracht Frankfurt (2nd title)
Runners-Up: 
Rangers
Player of the Season: 
Filip Kostić (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Young Player of the Season: Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Top Goal Scorer: 
James Tavernier ( Rangers), 7 goals
UEFA Europa League 2022-23 Group Standings
Group A
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 
Lyon6 5 1 0 16 5 +11 16 Advance to round of 16
2 Rangers6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 8 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 
Sparta Prague6 2 1 3 6 9 −3 7 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Brøndby6 0 2 4 2 11 −9 2
Group B
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 Monaco6 3 3 0 7 4 +3 12 Advance to round of 16
2 
Real Sociedad6 2 3 1 9 6 +3 9 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 
PSV Eindhoven6 2 2 2 9 8 +1 8 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Sturm Graz6 0 2 4 3 10 −7 2
Group C
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 
Spartak Moscow6 3 1 2 10 9 +1 10 Advance to round of 16
2 
Napoli6 3 1 2 15 10 +5 10 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 Leicester City6 2 2 2 12 11 +1 8 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Legia Warsaw6 2 0 4 4 11 −7 6
Notes: Head–to–head points: Spartak Moscow 6, Napoli 0.
Group D
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 Eintracht Frankfurt6 3 3 0 10 6 +4 12 Advance to round of 16
2 
Olympiacos6 3 0 3 8 7 +1 9 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 
Fenerbahçe6 1 3 2 7 8 −1 6 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Antwerp6 1 2 3 6 10 −4 5
Group E
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 Galatasaray6 3 3 0 7 3 +4 12 Advance to round of 16
2 Lazio6 2 3 1 7 3 +4 9 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 Marseille6 1 4 1 6 7 −1 7 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Lokomotiv Moscow6 0 2 4 2 9 −7 2
Group F
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 Red Star Belgrade6 3 2 1 6 4 +2 11 Advance to round of 16
2 
Braga6 3 1 2 12 9 +3 10 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 Midtjylland6 2 3 1 7 7 0 9 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Ludogorets Razgrad6 0 2 4 3 8 −5 2
Group G
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 Bayer Leverkusen6 4 1 1 14 5 +9 13 Advance to round of 16
2 Real Betis6 3 1 2 12 12 0 10 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 
Celtic6 3 0 3 13 15 −2 9 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 
Ferencváros6 1 0 5 5 12 −7 3
Group H
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points Qualification
1 
West Ham United6 4 1 1 11 3 +8 13 Advance to round of 16
2 
Dinamo Zagreb6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10 Advance to knockout round play-offs
3 
Rapid Wien6 2 0 4 4 9 −5 6 Transfer to Europa Conference League
4 Genk6 1 2 3 4 10 −6 5
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Knockout round play-offs matches
The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 13 December 2021, 13:00 CET. The first legs were played on 17 February, and the second legs were played on 24 February 2022.
Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Sevilla3–2 Dinamo Zagreb3–1 0–1
Atalanta5–1 Olympiacos2–1 3–0
RB Leipzig5–3 Real Sociedad2–2 3–1
Barcelona5–3 Napoli1–1 4–2
Zenit Saint Petersburg2–3 Real Betis2–3 0–0
Borussia Dortmund4–6 Rangers2–4 2–2
Sheriff Tiraspol2–2
2–3 (penalties) Braga2–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Porto4–3 Lazio2–1 2–2
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Round of 16 matches
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 25 February 2022, 12:00 CET. The first legs were played on 9 and 10 March, and the second legs were played on 17 March 2022.
Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Rangers4–2 Red Star Belgrade3–0 1–2
Braga3–1 Monaco2–0 1–1
Porto1–2 Lyon0–1 1–1
Atalanta4–2 Bayer Leverkusen3–2 1–0
Sevilla1–2 West Ham United1–0 0–2 (a.e.t.)
Barcelona2–1 Galatasaray0–0 2–1
RB Leipzigwalkover Spartak MoscowCancel Cancel
Real Betis2–3 Eintracht Frankfurt1–2 1–1 (a.e.t.)
Notes: RB Leipzig won on walkover as UEFA suspended Spartak Moscow due to the Russia and Ukraine issue.
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2022, 13:30 CET. The first legs were played on 7 April, and the second legs were played on 14 April 2022.
Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
RB Leipzig3–1 Atalanta1–1 2–0
Eintracht Frankfurt4–3 Barcelona1–1 3–2
West Ham United4–1 Lyon1–1 3–0
Braga2–3 Rangers1–0 1–3 (a.e.t.)
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Semi-final matches
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 18 March 2022, 13:30 CET, after the quarter-final draw. The first legs were played on 28 April, and the second legs were played on 5 May 2022.
Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 1st Leg 2nd Leg
RB Leipzig2–3 Rangers1–0 1–3
West Ham United1–3 Eintracht Frankfurt1–2 0–1
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Final match
18 May 2022 21:00 CEST, Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Seville
| Eintracht Frankfurt |
1–1 (a.e.t.) | Rangers |
Rafael Borré  69′ |
Ayodele Aribo 57′ |
|
Lenz  Hrustic Kamada Kostić Borré |
Penalties (5–4) |
Tavernier Davis Arfield Ramsey Roofe |
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Top Goal Scorers
Rank Player Team Goals
1 James Tavernier Rangers7
2 
Karl Toko Ekambi Lyon6
3 
Galeno Braga
Porto6
4 
Patson Daka Leicester City5
5 
Daichi Kamada
Eintracht Frankfurt5
6 Aleksandr Sobolev Spartak Moscow4
7 
Victor Osimhen Napoli4
8 Arkadiusz Milik Marseille4
9 Ciro Immobile Lazio4
10 Christopher Nkunku RB Leipzig4
Notes: Galeno played for Braga in the group stage and for Porto in the knockout stage, after his transfer during the January transfer window.
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Top Assist Provider List
Rank Player Club Assist
1 Filip Kostić Eintracht Frankfurt6
2 Florian Wirtz Bayer Leverkusen4
3 Iuri Medeiros Braga4
4 Ricardo Horta Braga4
5 Kelechi Iheanacho Leicester City3
6 Aleksandr Golovin Monaco3
7 Andrea Petagna Napoli3
8 Mario Götze PSV Eindhoven3
9 Angeliño RB Leipzig3
10 Sergio Canales Real Betis3
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Team of the Season
The UEFA technical study group selected the following players as the team of the tournament.
Position Player Club
Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp Eintracht Frankfurt
Defender Craig Dawson West Ham United
Defender Martin Hinteregger Eintracht Frankfurt
Defender Calvin Bassey Rangers
Midfielder James Tavernier Rangers
Midfielder Konrad Laimer RB Leipzig
Midfielder Declan Rice West Ham United
Midfielder Filip Kostić Eintracht Frankfurt
Forward Christopher Nkunku RB Leipzig
Forward 
Rafael Santos Borré Eintracht Frankfurt
Forward Ryan Kent Rangers
Knockout Phase
In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:
In the draw for the knockout round play-offs, the eight group runners-up were seeded, and the eight Champions League group third-placed teams were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout round play-offs were unseeded. Again, the seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Once again, teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner was designated as the “home” team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).
UEFA Europa League 2021-22 Summary
This season was the first since 1999–2000 (the first season after the dissolution of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup) where three major European club competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and the newly created UEFA Europa Conference League) take place, and the first outright where the Europa League (then the UEFA Cup) is the secondary competition of the three. As a result, major changes to the format of the Europa League were made. The number of teams in the group stage was reduced from 48 to 32 teams, and the number of teams participating in qualifying was also reduced significantly. The first round of the knockout phase also now involved only the group stage runners-up and the Champions League third-placed teams, with the group winners directly advancing to the round of 16.
As the title holders Villarreal qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, they were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by Liverpool in the semi-finals.
On 24 June 2021, UEFA approved the proposal to abolish the away goals rule in all UEFA club competitions, which had been used since 1965. Therefore, if in a two-legged tie, two teams scored the same number of aggregate goals, the winner of tie was not decided by the number of away goals scored by each team, but always by 30 minutes of extra time, and if the two teams scored the same number of goals in extra time, the winner was decided by a penalty shoot-out.
