The 2015 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 19 May to 21 November 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2015 AFC Champions League.[1]
The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage qualified for the knockout stage. Both West Zone and East Zone had eight teams qualified.
| Zone | Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone (Groups A–D) |
A |  Lekhwiya
|
 Persepolis
|
| B |  Al-Ain
|
Naft Tehran
| |
| C |  Al-Hilal
|
Al-Sadd
| |
| D | Al-Ahli
|
Al-Ahli
| |
| East Zone (Groups E–H) |
E |  Kashiwa Reysol
|
 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
|
| F | Gamba Osaka
|
Seongnam FC
| |
| G |  Beijing Guoan
|
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
| |
| H | Guangzhou Evergrande
|
FC Seoul
|
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[1]
The schedule of each round was as follows.[2]
| Round | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | 19–20 May 2015 | 26–27 May 2015 |
| Quarter-finals | 25–26 August 2015 | 15–16 September 2015 |
| Semi-finals | 29–30 September 2015 | 20–21 October 2015 |
| Final | 7 November 2015 | 21 November 2015 |
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.[1] The matchups are determined as follows:
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|
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 June 2015, 16:00 UTC+8, at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3] Teams from different zones could not be drawn into the same tie, and there was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[4]
In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined by the quarter-final draw: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2 (West Zone) and Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4 (East Zone), with winners QF2 and QF4 hosting the second leg.[4]
In the final, the finalist from the West Zone hosted the first leg, while the finalist from the East Zone hosted the second leg (no draw was held to determine the order of legs, as it was reversed from the previous season's final).[4]
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Persepolis
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Hilal
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Hilal
| 4 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Lekhwiya
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Sadd
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Lekhwiya
| 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Hilal
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Naft Tehran (a)
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli
| 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Naft Tehran
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli (a)
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ain
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Guangzhou Evergrande
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Suwon Bluewings
| 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kashiwa Reysol (a)
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kashiwa Reysol
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Guangzhou Evergrande
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seongnam FC
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Guangzhou Evergrande
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Guangzhou Evergrande
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeonbuk Motors
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Beijing Guoan
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeonbuk Motors
| 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FC Seoul
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka
| 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Sadd
|
3–4 | Lekhwiya
|
1–2 | 2–2 |
| Persepolis
|
1–3 | Al-Hilal
|
1–0 | 0–3 |
| Al-Ahli
|
3–3 (a) | Al-Ain
|
0–0 | 3–3 |
| Naft Tehran
|
2–2 (a) | Al-Ahli
|
1–0 | 1–2 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings
|
4–4 (a) | Kashiwa Reysol
|
2–3 | 2–1 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
|
2–1 | Beijing Guoan
|
1–1 | 1–0 |
| FC Seoul
|
3–6 | Gamba Osaka
|
1–3 | 2–3 |
| Seongnam FC
|
2–3 | Guangzhou Evergrande
|
2–1 | 0–2 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1–1 | Beijing Guoan |
|---|---|---|
Kim Kee-hee  13' |
Report | Batalla 85' (pen.) |
Attendance: 12,409
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2–3 | Kashiwa Reysol |
|---|---|---|
| Yeom Ki-hun 1' Jong Tae-se 59' |
Report | Barada 12' Leandro 29' (pen.), 56' |
Attendance: 6,164
Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
| Persepolis | 1–0 | Al-Hilal |
|---|---|---|
| Digão 90+2' (o.g.) |
Report |
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Nagor Amir Noor Mohamed (Malaysia)
| Al-Sadd | 1–2 | Lekhwiya |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Haydos 37' |
Report | Soria 13' Msakni 36' |
Attendance: 4,682
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
| Seongnam FC | 2–1 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
|---|---|---|
| Jorginho 23' Kim Do-heon 90+5' (pen.) |
Report | Huang Bowen 42' |
Attendance: 13,792
Referee: Mohsen Torky (Iran)
| FC Seoul | 1–3 | Gamba Osaka |
|---|---|---|
| Yun Ju-tae 90+2' |
Report | Usami 63', 86' Yonekura 74' |
Attendance: 10,607
Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)
| Naft Tehran | 1–0 | Al-Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Rezaei 34' |
Report |
Attendance: 13,370
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)
| Al-Ahli | 0–0 | Al-Ain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 8,900
Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–2 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
|---|---|---|
| Kobayashi 65' |
Report | Jong Tae-se 26' Koo Ja-ryong 54' |
Attendance: 9,142
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
4–4 on aggregate. Kashiwa Reysol won on away goals.
| Beijing Guoan | 0–1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Edu 73' |
Attendance: 43,526
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Lekhwiya | 2–2 | Al-Sadd |
|---|---|---|
| Msakni 13' Mohammad 83' |
Report | Muriqui 36' Assadalla 63' |
Attendance: 4,241
Referee: Masaaki Toma (Japan)
Lekhwiya won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Al-Hilal | 3–0 | Persepolis |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Salem 29' Al-Shalhoub 57' (pen.)A. Al-Dawsari 90+1' |
Report |
Attendance: 23,590
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
Al-Hilal won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Gamba Osaka | 3–2 | FC Seoul |
|---|---|---|
| Patric 16' Kurata 45'Lins 86' |
Report | Yun Ju-tae 58', 90+2' |
Attendance: 9,597
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Gamba Osaka won 6–3 on aggregate.
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–0 | Seongnam FC |
|---|---|---|
| Goulart 27' (pen.), 57' |
Report |
Attendance: 48,761
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Guangzhou Evergrande won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Al-Ain | 3–3 | Al-Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Gyan 5', 78' Eisa 90+2' |
Report | Khamis 51' Khalil 53', 56' |
Attendance: 14,270
Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)
3–3 on aggregate. Al-Ahli won on away goals.
| Al-Ahli | 2–1 | Naft Tehran |
|---|---|---|
| Al Soma 36', 42' |
Report | Padovani 31' |
Attendance: 35,488
Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)
2–2 on aggregate. Naft Tehran won on away goals.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Hilal
|
6–3 | Lekhwiya
|
4–1 | 2–2 |
| Naft Tehran
|
1–3 | Al-Ahli
|
0–1 | 1–2 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashiwa Reysol
|
2–4 | Guangzhou Evergrande
|
1–3 | 1–1 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
|
2–3 | Gamba Osaka
|
0–0 | 2–3 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–3 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
|---|---|---|
| Kudo 89' |
Report | Suzuki 5' (o.g.) Paulinho 40'Gao Lin 58' |
Attendance: 14,030
Referee: Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia)
| Al-Hilal | 4–1 | Lekhwiya |
|---|---|---|
| Aílton 11' Kaabi 34'Eduardo 36', 86' |
Report | Msakni 17' |
Attendance: 1,190[A]
Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0–0 | Gamba Osaka |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 23,633
Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Bin Yaacob (Malaysia)
| Naft Tehran | 0–1 | Al-Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Lima 62' |
Attendance: 23,300
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–1 | Kashiwa Reysol |
|---|---|---|
| Huang Bowen 30' |
Report | Cristiano 12' |
Attendance: 48,643
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Guangzhou Evergrande won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Lekhwiya | 2–2 | Al-Hilal |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad 45+2' Flores 72' |
Report | Eduardo 26' Digão 87' |
Attendance: 5,439
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
Al-Hilal won 6–3 on aggregate.
| Gamba Osaka | 3–2 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
|---|---|---|
| Patric 14' Kurata 76'Yonekura 90+3' |
Report | Leonardo 13' (pen.) Vera 88' |
Attendance: 9,284
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
Gamba Osaka won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Al-Ahli | 2–1 | Naft Tehran |
|---|---|---|
| Lima 26' Khalil 48' (pen.) |
Report | Amiri 50' |
Attendance: 9,353
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
Al-Ahli won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Hilal
|
3–4 | Al-Ahli
|
1–1 | 2–3 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou Evergrande
|
2–1 | Gamba Osaka
|
2–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Hilal | 1–1 | Al-Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Aílton 82' |
Report | Lima 57' |
Attendance: 53,268
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–1 | Gamba Osaka |
|---|---|---|
| Huang Bowen 36' Zheng Zhi 57' |
Report | Feng Xiaoting 13' (o.g.) |
Attendance: 48,946
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
| Al-Ahli | 3–2 | Al-Hilal |
|---|---|---|
| Lima 17' Ribeiro 45'Kwon Kyung-won 90+5' |
Report | Aílton 51' Eduardo 64' |
Attendance: 9,800
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
Al-Ahli won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Gamba Osaka | 0–0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 17,310
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)
Guangzhou Evergrande won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli
|
0–1 | Guangzhou Evergrande
|
0–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Ahli | 0–0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 9,480
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–0 | Al-Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Elkeson 54' |
Report |
Attendance: 42,499
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Guangzhou Evergrande won 1–0 on aggregate.
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