Where Man Utd's hopes of Champions League qualification stand after Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal defeats
Manchester United’s hopes of playing Champions League football next season via a fifth place qualification spot have been significantly dashed.
Following the latest run of disappointing results for Premier League teams in Europe, England now have just a 1.1 percent chance of sending five teams through to the 2024/25 Champions League campaign.
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Hide AdPremier League title runners Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool were all knocked out of their respective competitions this week. City and Arsenal exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively, while Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of another trophy faded with their loss to Atalanta in the Europa League.
West Ham’s time in the Europa League also came to an end, despite drawing with Bayer Leverkusen in their second leg. Xabi Alonso’s side progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win. Aston Villa are now the only remaining English still competing in Europe. After an aggregate score of 3-3, the Villans eliminated Lille on penalties to reach the Europa Conference League semis, where they will take on Olympiacos.
These midweek defeats leave England third in the coefficient table with 17.375 points. The top two nations will be awarded an extra Champions League qualification spot, and right now Germany (17.928 points) and Italy (19.428 points) are in the lead. Nations earn two points for every club win and one point for a draw, there are also bonus points for teams reaching certain stages in their respective tournaments.
While the pressure rests on Villa’s shoulders, England’s chances of actually overtaking Germany in the coefficient table are incredibly slim. Unai Emery’s side would need to beat Olympiacos across both semi-final legs, win the final and rely on all three remaining German teams (Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) to lose every one of their remaining fixtures.
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Hide AdUnless a total collapse of form in Germany is on the horizon, those competing for fifth place in the Premier League are now fighting a losing battle and will not benefit from the extra Champions League qualification spot. Tottenham Hotspur are currently fifth with 60 points, while Newcastle and Man United both sit ten points behind.
This is the first time since the 2014/15 season that no English teams will be competing in the semi-finals of the Champions League or Europa League.
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