But England's failures began much earlier in the competition, with Newcastle's direct elimination in the group of death and Manchester United's fiasco. With these results, the English championship has taken a big hit in the coefficient and England is almost sure to lose its 5th ticket for the Champions League.
This is all due to a new rule introduced this year. The two most successful leagues of the European season will be able to count on an additional team next year in the new Champions League formula.
Another chance to save England?
However, everything is not yet over for English clubs in European competitions. Only one team “resists”, even if the result of the first leg puts West Ham in a complicated situation. In fact, the club from the London suburbs finds itself opposed to Bayer Leverkusen, recent German champion.
With a 0-2 defeat in the first leg, the English will have to win by three goals to avoid the penalty shootout and maintain a chance of a 5th European ticket. Because we will still have to qualify for the final and win it in order to keep the precious key to the English championship.
But as statistician Lorenzo Carli explains, Italy sits at the top of the annual UEFA points ranking with 18,857 points. Statistical models indicate that Serie A has a 99.9% chance of taking a 5th team to the Champions League. Then, thanks to the performances of its clubs, Germany offers itself a great opportunity to recover this extra ticket.
