Why/how did I qualify?

Okay, so my team, NAC Breda, just qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds in 2012. The problem is, I have no idea how this happened. At the end of the group stage, we have:

Q NAC Breda, 3W 2D 1L, 11 points, +4 GD

Q Chelsea, 3W 2D 1L, 11 points, +7 GD

Roma, 3W 2D 1L, 11 points, +5 GD

Steaua, 0W 0D 6L, 0 points, -16 GD

So I go and check the rules - okay, so apparently it's based on team results, so let's check this out. I'll ignore any games vs. Steaua since everyone beat up on Steaua. Home teams are on the left.

NAC Breda 3 - 3 Chelsea

NAC Breda 2 - 1 Roma

Chelsea 3 - 2 NAC Breda

Roma 2 - 2 NAC Breda

Chelsea 0 - 1 Roma

Roma 1 - 1 Chelsea

So, if I'm not mistaken, this means that Breda beats Roma. Roma beats Chelsea. And Chelsea beats Breda, which means that we're stuck in a loop where you can't definitively say one team is "better" than one of the others (unless it's deciding that Roma is better than Chelsea because Roma won away, and so Breda's better than Roma because they BEAT Roma... but then wouldn't Roma qualify instead of Chelsea? Argh, I don't even know.)

So I'd think it would go to GD then, but then Breda wouldn't have qualified, so I don't even know how I qualified, much less why I'm apparently top of the table. Can someone with more CL knowledge than I have explain this, or is this a legitimate bug? :confused:

There rules about total goals? Breda has most goals, from my quick glance, and chelsea has second most. Didn't add them too carefully so I may be wrong, but that's what it looks like. Goals for.

There rules about total goals? Breda has most goals, from my quick glance, and chelsea has second most. Didn't add them too carefully so I may be wrong, but that's what it looks like. Goals for.

Breda and Chelsea both have 15 goals each, while Roma has 12 (including the Steaua games). Which would make sense if it went to goals scored first, but it's not supposed to in the CL. The rules (in-game) say:

• Results Between Teams
  
• Goal Difference
  
• Goals Scored
  
• Coefficient
  

Which means that it's got to be giving me something based on team results, because if it gets to GD, Breda get bounced out to Roma and Chelsea.

What were the Steaua results?

Nevermind Steaua. When it's a three way "Results between teams", you have to set up the mini-league to reach a conclusion. And in your case it's quite remarkable:

Club P W D L GD

NAC 4 1 2 1 9-9

CFC 4 1 2 1 7-7

ASR 4 1 2 1 5-5

So it is, just like Rhino said, Goals For

Wow what a funny occurrence! Chelsea should be below Roma, who should be below Breda, who should be below Chelsea

So I assume it then goes to goal difference since results against each other doesn't sort anything out...but I'm not sure why Breda are ahead of Chelsea, unless I've missed something?

edit: Oh I see, thanks edge. So it goes to goal difference/scored for the games against each other, rather than taking into consideration the whole group (ie. games against Steaua too). Very interesting

There rules about total goals? Breda has most goals, from my quick glance, and chelsea has second most. Didn't add them too carefully so I may be wrong, but that's what it looks like. Goals for.

Nevermind Steaua. When it's a three way "Results between teams", you have to set up the mini-league to reach a conclusion. And in your case it's quite remarkable:

Club P W D L GD

NAC 4 1 2 1 9-9

CFC 4 1 2 1 7-7

ASR 4 1 2 1 5-5

So it is, just like Rhino said, Goals For

You learn something new every day, I guess. I never would have figured that out - thank you for your help! I wasn't sure if it was a bug or not, but I guess it isn't!

You learn something new every day, I guess. I never would have figured that out - thank you for your help! I wasn't sure if it was a bug or not, but I guess it isn't!

Indeed you do, I just checked out the rules on UEFAs website, and here is the section describing the rules from the 2009/10 Competition regulations.

7.06 If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group

matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in

descending order):

a) higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the

teams in question;

b) superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams

in question;

c) higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches

played among the teams in question;

d) superior goal difference from all group matches played;

e) higher number of goals scored;

f) higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question,

as well as its association, over the previous five seasons (see paragraph

9.02).

And so I also learned something new Roma went out of the equation already at c)

I thought it went by results against eachother so if you beat roma then drew with them then you go through

I thought it went by results against eachother so if you beat roma then drew with them then you go through

Yeah, but Roma beat Chelsea. Chelsea beat me. But I beat Roma.

See the problem, now? (Though it's been resolved, so...)