NYON, Switzerland — Ahead of the Champions League finishing its first-ever opening league phase in January, the new format for European competitions took shape Friday with the draw for knockout playoffs in the third-tier Conference League.
The 16 teams that placed from ninth to 24th in the single-league, 36-team standings that finished Thursday were paired in a seeded bracket like a tennis tournament.
Eight winners of two-leg playoffs on Feb. 13 and 20 will advance to the round of 16 scheduled in March, joining league leader Chelsea, third-place Fiorentina and the other top-eight finishers. Fiorentina lost in the past two finals of the Conference League.
The playoff pairings included Champions League regular Copenhagen hosting European newcomer Heidenheim, Gent hosting Real Betis, and Celje of Slovenia playing at home first against Cypriot club APOEL, which was a Champions League quarterfinalist in 2012.
Cyprus is the only country with three teams left in the competition and Friday’s draw set up a domestic derby between Omonoia and Pafos.
Shamrock Rovers is the first Irish team to advance to the knockout stage of a UEFA competition and will play the first leg in Norway against Molde.
Molde’s passage to the knockout phase was the most dramatic Thursday in the last round of the league phase.
Molde scored a stoppage-time goal to beat Mlada Boleslav 4-3 and rise from 27th to 23rd in the standings. That goal also eliminated Mlada, which dropped to 27th, and Hearts which fell to 25th and was eliminated on the tiebreaker of total goals scored.
The Champions League and Europa League have their draws for the knockout playoff rounds on Jan. 31, after completing their eight-round league phase program that week.
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