2002–03 UEFA Champions League first group stage
Introduction The '''2002–03 UEFA Champions League first group stage''' matches took place between 17 September and 13 November 2002.The draw for the group stage was made on 29 August 2002 in Monaco.The group stage featured the 16 automatic qualifiers and the 16 winners of the third qualifying round. Each team was drawn into one of eight groups but avoided teams from their own country. All four teams in the group played home and away matches against each other to determine the winner and runner-up in the group.At the completion of the group stage, the top two teams in each group advanced to play in a second group stage, while the third-placed teams dropped down to the UEFA Cup.
Seeding Seeding was determined by the UEFA coefficients. Clubs from the same association were paired up to split the matchdays between Tuesday and Wednesday. Clubs with the same pairing letter would play on different days, ensuring that teams from the same city (e.g. Milan and Internazionale, who also share a stadium) did not play on the same day.Key to colorsTeams advance to the second group stageTeams enter the UEFA Cup round of 32Pot 1TeamCoeff. Real Madrid147.223  Bayern Munich133.495  Barcelona116.233 Manchester United111.899 Valencia106.233  Juventus91.334 Arsenal90.729  Internazionale88.334Pot 2TeamCoeff. Deportivo La Coruña82.233 Bayer Leverkusen81.495 Liverpool79.729 Galatasaray78.362 Roma77.334 Lyon74.176 Borussia Dortmund73.495  Feyenoord70.082Pot 3TeamCoeff. Milan69.334  PSV Eindhoven63.082 Dynamo Kyiv59.979 Spartak Moscow59.645 Lokomotiv Moscow57.645 Olympiacos55.058 AEK Athens52.058  Ajax48.082Pot 4TeamCoeff. Rosenborg47.737 Lens44.176 Newcastle United43.729 Club Brugge41.762 Auxerre32.176  Genk21.762 Maccabi Haifa18.666 Basel14.312
Tie-breaking criteria Based on Article 7.06 in the UEFA regulations, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria will be applied to determine the rankings:#higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;#superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;#higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;#superior goal difference from all group matches played;#higher number of goals scored;#higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
Groups Times are CET/CEST, as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).===Group A===--------------------===Group B===--------------------===Group C===--------------------===Group D===--------------------===Group E===--------------------===Group F===--------------------1 Maccabi Haifa played their home group matches at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus after UEFA banned international matches from being played in Israel.===Group G===--------------------===Group H===--------------------
Notes
References