Two-legged tie

In sport (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a match-up between two clubs or national teams that lasts over two individual games, used in knockout cup competitions. In typical two-legged ties, each team will play one game (known as a "leg") at home. The reason for using two-legged ties is to determine the winner without giving any one of the teams a home field advantage.

Two-legged ties are particularly popular in international football tournaments, such as continental club competitions (e.g., the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores), or play-off qualification games in international team competitions, such as the FIFA World Cup. Some domestic cup competitions, such as the Coppa Italia and the Copa del Rey, also feature two-legged ties.

The winner of the two-legged tie is the team with the better aggregate score, which refers to the sum of the scores from the two games. For example, if the scores of the two legs are:
*First leg: Team A 4–1 Team B
*Second leg: Team A 1–2 Team BThen the aggregate score will be Team A 5–3 Team B, meaning team A wins the two-legged tie.

If the aggregate score is tied after the two legs, various methods can be used to break ties. The away goals rule, where the team who scored the more away goals advances, may come into consideration. If away goals are equal, or are not considered, then the tie may be decided by extra time and/or penalty shootout. Replays, though less common these days, may also be used. In Mexican football competitions, the team with the better season record advances if the aggregate score is tied.

As each team hosts one match, there is no explicit advantage to whether a team plays at home first or second. However, most managers and players feel that the team playing at home for the second leg has a slight advantage over the other team. The thinking is that the team playing away for the first leg can play it safe there (a draw or even a slight defeat is considered a favourable result), and then "win" the tie at home in the second leg. For example, in the draw for the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League, the group runners-up will play the first leg at home, while the group winners will play the second leg at home. Nevertheless, this theory has never been proved by any statistical data.

Use in Rugby union

Two-legged matches are used in the qualifying stages of the Rugby World Cup.

ee also

* Away goals rule