Newcastle United and Man Utd cause Premier League problem after Champions League exit

Both Newcastle United and Manchester United were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage after finishing bottom of their respective groups. Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of AC Milan ensured they would finish below Borussia Dortmund, PSG and AC Milan in Group F whilst Erik ten Hag’s side finished behind Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray in Group A. 

The Magpies and Red Devils will now need to pick themselves up from these disappointments, however, it isn’t just the clubs involved that will feel the effects of their elimination from the competition. The Premier League as a whole is set to suffer from Newcastle and Manchester United’s exit from the Champions League.

Under new UEFA rules and ahead of a reformatted Champions League, two countries will be allotted an extra spot in next season’s tournament for club’s that didn’t qualify through the ‘traditional’ routes - for example finishing in the top four of the Premier League. This will be decided based on the coefficient of every league in Europe and how their teams have performed in UEFA competitions in the season previous.

Therefore, for a fifth-placed Premier League team to qualify for the Champions League next season, they would need English clubs as a whole to perform well in Europe, however, Newcastle and Manchester United’s poor Champions League finish has put that into jeopardy. Currently, the average coefficients of Bundesliga teams (13.36) and Serie A teams (13.14) lead the Premier League (12.13) and thus, as it stands, England’s top-flight would not be offered another Champions League spot for next season.

To rectify this, English clubs must perform well in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League between now and the end of the campaign in order to boost their coefficient rankings. Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, West Ham, Brighton and Aston Villa have all guaranteed their passage to the next round of their respective competitions and will need to go deep into the competition to help out the Premier League’s coefficient.

Fans of Newcastle United and Manchester United may now be cheering on their fellow English sides in Europe in order to see that 5th place open up as both teams face their respective struggles for form in the Premier League.