1 week ago
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While the phrase ‘top four’ has become embedded in terms of Champions League qualification, the new system makes it open to change.
With the expansion of the Champions League came extra slots to be filled, and so the idea of fifth-placed qualification came about. To simplify, you can finish fifth in your league and get in, provided the league is one of the two best-performing European leagues of the current season.
The specific teams that earn this spot are determined by the final league standings in May, so everything is still in play. The bad news is that Serie A currently finds itself in fifth place in the ranking, despite victories for Juventus in the Champions League and Roma in the Europa League.
Hopes fading
In the Champions League things didn’t go well for Italian sides on the coefficient front. Juventus got a 2-0 victory over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, but Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Copenhagen, Inter were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal, and Atalanta lost 3-2 at home to Athletic Club.
As mentioned, Roma got 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart on Thursday night, the ideal preparation for Sunday’s six-pointer at the Stadio Olimpico against Milan. Bologna came from behind to rescue a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Celtic.
What it means is that things are looking a bit bleak at the moment in terms of getting an extra spot in next season’s Champions League. England sit at the top of the standings with a points tally of 14.152, which feels difficult to overcome.
Rather remarkably, it is Poland’s Ekstraklasa that sits in second with 13.625 points. The German Bundesliga is third on 12.428, Spain’s LaLiga is fourth with 12,187 and Serie A is fifth with 12.035. So, work is needed, or it will be top four or bust again.
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