It was a thoroughly miserable evening for English clubs in European competition on Tuesday.
At Old Trafford, Turkish side Galatasaray took advantage of some truly disastrous Manchester United defending to seal an improbable 3-2 comeback victory.
The result means Manchester United have opened a Champions League campaign with consecutive defeats for the first time in the history of the tournament, after their earlier loss to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, some 300 miles away in northern France, Arsenal slipped to an unexpected 2-1 defeat at Lens, the side currently 15th in Ligue 1.
Those results mean that none of the Champions League groups are currently topped by an English team.
Manchester City came from behind to beat Red Star Belgrade 3-1 three weeks ago but are behind RB Leipzig on away goals scored, while Newcastle United drew their opening match 0-0 with AC Milan. They next face Paris Saint-Germain, who saw off Borussia Dortmund in the opening round of fixtures.
Fans of other Premier League teams will no doubt have enjoyed Tuesday’s unexpected results in particular — but there’s a catch.
There are potentially five Champions League spots up for grabs this season for the English top flight, but the fifth and final place is entirely dependent on how sides perform in Europe this season.
The key words in that above paragraph are this season — previous triumphs of Premier League sides, such as Manchester City’s Champions League win last season and Chelsea’s in 2021, count for nothing.
That means rival Premier League supporters would do well to put down their PSG and Leipzig scarves and pull out a St. George’s flag for Wednesday night’s games. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s this new rule I need to know about?
We’ve covered this previously but there was so much mickey-taking in our discussion tabs and on social media on Tuesday night that we thought it was worth recapping.
The Champions League is expanding from 32 to 36 teams next season and one of those additional spots could potentially go to the Premier League side that finishes fifth.
Two of those additional four extra places will be awarded to the two best-performing countries in European competitions, with ranking points are awarded for every match — group-stage and knockout — in UEFA’s three club competitions. The collective performance of all competing nations in this season’s tournaments will be determined by the total number of ranking points obtained by their clubs, divided by the number of participating clubs.
UEFA calls these places the ‘European Performance Spots’. Catchy, we know.
Had the change been made at the start of last season, Liverpool (who finished fifth in the Premier League) and Atalanta (who finished fifth in Serie A) would have made it into the Champions League as teams from England and Italy performed best in European competition.
But the fact that there are eight English clubs playing in Europe this season already makes things more difficult for Premier League clubs — and that was before Manchester United shot themselves in the foot against Galatasaray.
Manchester United have lost both their European games this season (Photo: Getty Images)
How are Premier League clubs currently doing?
It’s been a mixed bag to say the least.
Liverpool and West Ham United both won their opening Europa League fixtures. But Brighton & Hove Albion fell to a surprise 3-2 defeat at home to AEK Athens, and in the Conference League, Aston Villa — who beat Brighton 6-1 last time out — lost 3-2 at Legia Warsaw.
It means England is currently sat, wait for it, 16th in UEFA’s seasonal rankings, behind member associations including Greece, Iceland and Israel.
UEFA season country coefficients 2022/23
| Position | Country | Clubs | Total points | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Turkey |
3/4 |
31 |
7.75 |
|
2 |
Belgium |
5/5 |
24 |
4.8 |
|
3 |
Netherlands |
4/5 |
23 |
4.6 |
|
4 |
Poland |
2/4 |
17.5 |
4.375 |
|
5 |
Italy |
7/7 |
30 |
4.285 |
|
6 |
Denmark |
2/4 |
17 |
4.25 |
|
7 |
Germany |
7/7 |
29.5 |
4.214 |
|
8 |
Greece |
4/5 |
21 |
4.2 |
|
9 |
Portugal |
4/6 |
24 |
4 |
|
10 |
Czechia |
3/4 |
16 |
4 |
|
11 |
Spain |
7/8 |
31.5 |
3.937 |
|
12 |
Iceland |
1/3 |
11.5 |
3.833 |
|
13 |
Israel |
2/4 |
15 |
3.75 |
|
14 |
France |
6/6 |
21.5 |
3.583 |
|
15 |
Croatia |
1/4 |
13.5 |
3.375 |
|
16 |
England |
8/8 |
27 |
3.375 |
Yes, there is a ridiculously long way to go. It’s only the start of October! And member associations are rewarded with a large number of bonus points if a club from their country goes on to win one of UEFA’s three club tournaments.
But English clubs are already up against it due to the large number of Premier League sides in Europe this season, and clubs crashing out in the group stages will make it far more unlikely that the fifth-place club will be rewarded with a spot in the Champions League come May.
So, if you support a Premier League club who might well finish fifth this season, you’d be wise to stop your sniggering. We’re looking at you, Tottenham fans.
Where can I find out more?
If that put you in the mood for some more UEFA rules and regulations, click here for a far more detailed look at how the Champions League is changing forever at the end of this season.
And if you think this article is a load of nonsense and you want to revel in the hilarity of it all, click below.
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(Top photos: Getty Images)
