Any hopes of a fifth Premier League side earning a Champions League spot have been left hanging by a thread after European defeats for Liverpool and West Ham United.
Next season's expanded Champions League will feature 36 clubs rather than the 32 this term, with two countries contributing five clubs apiece based on their league finish. The identity of those countries will be determined by European performances this season, with the Premier League only the third-best after Thursday's games.
In order to find the relevant 'European Performance Score', the total coefficient points attained by clubs from one league is divided by the number of representatives from that competition. The Premier League could yet secure the highest total, but Thursday's results made that difficult.
West Ham, last season's Conference League winners, conceded two late goals against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. It was an even worse night for Liverpool, who were beaten 3-0 at home by Atalanta and face an uphill struggle in the return leg in Italy.
Ahead of Thursday's games, Italy topped the rankings with an average of 17.714 points. Germany sat second with 16.357, with England on 16.250.
Wenger breaks silence on Arsenal visit as he doubles down on title prediction
Serie A has no remaining sides in the Champions League, but there were Europa League wins for Atalanta against Liverpool and Roma at AC Milan, while Fiorentina drew with Viktoria Plzen in the Conference League. That takes Italy's average to a huge 18.428, according to the UEFA site.
It was a mixed bag for Germany, with Leverkusen's win accompanied by a Champions League draw for Bayern Munich against Arsenal and a defeat for Dortmund at Atletico Madrid in the same competition. Aston Villa were the Premier League's only winners, beating Lille in the Conference League, with Arsenal and Manchester City both recording Champions League draws.
How many European trophies will English sides win this season? Have your say in the comments section
Aston Villa were the only Premier League side to win in Europe this week (Getty Images)Those results mean Germany remain second, with a score of 16.785 - just ahead of England's 16.750. As things stand, that would see the extra Champions League spots go to fifth-placed Serie A side Roma and Dortmund, who sit fifth in the Bundesliga.
Roma and Dortmund aren't the only teams who have their fate in their own hands, so to speak. The longer they stay in Europe, the more chance they have of boosting their country's coefficient, and the same goes for the Premier League's fifth-placed side Aston Villa.
Unai Emery's side, who sit outside the Premier League's top four spots on goal difference, hold a slender first-leg advantage over French side Lille. Ollie Watkins and John McGinn scored to give them a two-goal lead entering the final 10 minutes, only for Bafode Diakite to pull a goal back.
“We prepared the match understanding and respecting them, and we won," said Emery, who is a four-time Europa League winner as a manager. "We have to be, more or less, happy and respecting them even more than we were."
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
