last season, Borussia Dortmund Of German Bundesliga And Bologna from Italian Serie A The lucky recipients were, with clubs from Germany and Italy beating out clubs from England, France and Spain.
with the UEFA Conference League (UCoL) The league stage is now complete, with the first clubs eliminated and key bonus points won, we can get our first snapshot of the standings.
However, we are far from knowing who will get both spots, and the next big moment comes when UEFA Europa League (UEL) First leg ends on January 23, followed by UCL on January 29.
How does it work?
It is about the collective performance of all the teams from every country participating in Europe this season. The two leagues with the best average numerical score get an additional place.
Regardless of the contest, each win is worth double digit points, a draw gets you one point, and a loss gets you nothing.
If a match goes into extra time, the score after 120 minutes is used. Penalties are not taken into account if the game is drawn, as they are used to determine ties rather than individual matches.
The points earned by all clubs are added together, and the total score is divided by the number of clubs in a country in Europe that season. This gives the numerical average. For example, if a country has 60 coefficient points and seven teams in Europe, its score is 8.571 for the table (60/7).
The extra place goes to the first team in the league table outside the UCL places. So, it will move to fifth place in the Premier League. This is one place on top of the regular allocation, so if the league normally has seven places in Europe, it will have eight next season.
So a win in the Champions League is not worth much?
No, the qualification system is primarily designed to gauge the overall strength of the leagues. Winning is the same in all competitions. Otherwise, it will be impossible for these leagues to advance the qualification rankings for those leagues with fewer or no teams in the UCL group stage.
What about the new bonus points system?
This is where things have changed, and performance at UCL has become much more valuable than at UEL, and so on at UCoL.
Under the old system, the maximum bonus points for a club in the UCL was 12, and is now 18 (+6). In UEL it ranges from eight to 10 (+2). At UCoL, it has increased from four to six (+2).
In addition, each club participating in the UCL receives at least six bonus points (up from four) just for participating. In UEL, you have to finish first to get six bonus points. In the UCoL, Chelsea received four points for first place. There is no bonus at UEL or UCoL if you are out of the top 24.
Then there are bonus points for reaching each of the knockout rounds, again weighted by competition.
Along with these higher bonus points for position, teams that finish in the top eight of each league are guaranteed a further 1.5 to reach the Round of 16.
There are no bonus points for participating in the knockout play-offs in February in either competition, but you do get points for each leg result that is not available for the top eight. Knockout play-off results count towards the league’s overall qualification, but not the club’s.
So this is an advantage for leagues with five UCL teams?
Yes, and no.
While Serie A and the Bundesliga have five teams in the Champions League, there are eight teams in Europe.
Each win and bonus point, when averaged, is worth less than in other leagues. And if a few teams struggle, there is no chance of challenging for the top two.
Italian clubs have held up well, but German teams have struggled VfB Stuttgart And RB Leipzig Out of UCL’s top 24 and TSG Hoffenheim 26th in UEL.
Wouldn’t it just be extra places for the top two leagues?
The new bonus points system gives a big advantage to leagues with more teams in the UCL.
If we look back over the last six seasons, England and Spain take seven of the 12 places, with Italy and Germany two each. Only one of the countries with fewer than four teams in the Champions League (Netherlands) in 2021-22 finished in the top two in average coefficient.
History has already told us that it is highly likely that two of the top leagues will have five Champions League spots. Now it has been strengthened.
2023-24: Italy and Germany
2022-23: England and Italy
2021-22: England and the Netherlands
2020-21: England and Spain
2019-20: Spain and Germany
2018-19: England and Spain
How did the Conference League play?
Lens Failed to qualify for the league stage, leaving Ligue 1’s hopes of challenging for additional UCL places.
Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga teams are still active.
Chelsea Won all six of their matches to finish in first place, giving them the most points towards the Premier League score. Fiorentina Joined Chelsea to go straight into the round of 16.
of Portugal Guimaraes Finished second, helping put them in Primera Liga contention. Belgium have two teams, with Cercle Brugge automatically advancing to the round of 16 and Gent to the playoff round.
A round of 16 meeting between Chelsea and the knockout play-off round participants is likely Real beats (LaLiga) or 1. FC Heidenheim (Bundesliga), which will create a head-to-head battle for points as well as promotion to the UCoL.
What does the numerical table look like this season?
This is the top 10 as of December 19.
1. England, 14.035
2. Italy, 12.562
3. Portugal, 12.450
4. Belgium, 11,900
5. Spain, 11.892
6. Germany, 10.640
7. France, 9.928
8. Sweden, 9.375
9. Czechia, 8.700
10. Cyprus, 8.687
The top six nations still have a full complement of teams.
England are in a very healthy position, but with many bonus points coming from the UCL and UEL that could change quickly.
Portugal and Belgium have had impressive runs of the league, but it is difficult to continue in the knockout rounds. When the Netherlands finished in the top two in 2021-22, there were several clubs in its tournaments.
When do we usually find out who gets the extra seats?
In many seasons this may become clear in March, once we know which leagues have multiple teams through to the quarter-finals of the three European competitions. But it is likely to happen later before the final confirmation.
Last season, Serie A received an extra berth on April 18, followed by the Bundesliga on May 1.
It looked like it was going to be close, but the English clubs’ terrible results in the quarter-finals, losing four of their remaining five teams, effectively handed second place to Germany.
However, the 2019-20 season shows that it could go all the way down. Germany did not leave the Premier League in second place until Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League final. If there is a repeat of this season, we don’t know which league gets the second extra place until the UCL final on May 31.
That would leave two clubs in the domestic leagues praying for the right result in the finals. In 2019-20, Bayer Leverkusen And Leicester City Ranked fifth in Germany and England respectively. Leverkusen would need Bayern to win the UCL final to secure a place, while Leicester needed Bayern to lose the match.
What is the maximum number of places at UCL and Europe?
Under the old system, a maximum of five clubs from an association could play in the Champions League. This meant that in the unlikely event that teams from the same league won the Champions League and Europa League, both were knocked out of the UCL places domestically, leaving the fourth place to the UCL. Will have to go to El.
But the cap has been lifted and it will be possible for seven teams to qualify for the UCL: the top four, the fifth through league performance in Europe, and the winners of the UCL and UEL.
It would also be technically possible, though highly unlikely, to have 11 teams in Europe: the usual allocation of seven, plus an extra place in the Champions League and the title holders of all three European competitions.
How does the extra space affect other positions in the league?
If we assume that the extra places will go to one of the top leagues, this means that fifth place will enter the Champions League and have eight (instead of seven) places in Europe. Other European berths fall one place.
The Premier League will have access to any season:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Carabao Cup Winners
If La Liga, Bundesliga or Serie A gets it, access will be:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa League: 6, Cup Winners
Conference League: 7
In all cases if a team wins the domestic cup and finishes in a European place in the league, the spots drop one more place.
If a team wins the UEL or UCL but does not qualify for the UCL domestically, that league will have six places in the UCL — five places plus the UEL or UCL title holders as extras. The league will forfeit the home spot won by the title holders.
Last season, if Borussia Dortmund had won the Champions League, Germany would have had six teams (top six) in the UCL but only one in the UEL – missing out on the spot Dortmund earned.
Which teams will benefit this time?
now, Manchester City I am at the fifth position. Premier Leaguewith the Lazio By holding this place Serie A.