Advantage Bundesliga as Premier League clubs sweat on extra Champions League place following bad night for England

Arsenal’s defeat to Bayern Munich and Manchester City’s loss to Real Madrid did more than just rule out an English finalist in the Wembley final

It also gave Germany’s Bundesliga the edge over England’s Premier League in the race to earn another spot in next year’s expanded Champions League

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Germany are now favoured to secure a fifth Champions League spot next season after Bayern Munich joined Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals after defeating Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate on Wednesday. Photo: dpa

Published: 10:00pm, 18 Apr 2024

Tottenham Hotspur supporters would have had little sympathy for arch-rivals Arsenal after their Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Arsenal – but they may not be laughing so hard come the end of the season.

Arsenal’s 3-2 aggregate defeat, combined with holders Manchester City’s penalty shoot-out loss to Real Madrid, did more than just rule out the possibility of an English club appearing in the Wembley showpiece on June 1.

Those defeats also gave Germany’s Bundesliga the edge over England’s Premier League in the race to secure an extra spot in next year’s expanded Champions League.

Until Wednesday’s wipeout, England were fractionally behind Germany in UEFA’s coefficient table – the system used to decide how many places a country is entitled to in Europe’s club competitions.

A dejected Bernardo Silva (rear) of Manchester City after his team’s defeat to Real Madrid. Photo: EPA

The top two nations in that table will be awarded five places, rather than four, in next season’s Champions League and with Italy secure in first place the battle between Germany and England was, until Wednesday, too close to call.

However, Germany now look favourites with Bayern Munich having joined Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals. Dortmund edged out Atletico Madrid in a thriller on Tuesday.