Starting from this season, the Europa League final was played in the same week as the Champions League final. In March 2018, UEFA announced that a fourth substitution will be allowed in extra time and that the number of substitutes has been increased from 7 to 12. The kick-off time has also been changed from 20:45 CEST to 21:00 CEST. The match was also the first fixture (and final) of the Europa League to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.