English Premier League secure extra Champions League place after Arsenal win

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Coefficient points 

©TM/IMAGO

It’s reached the business end of the season and the three European competitions have reached the quarter-final stages. Two nations will be awarded an extra place for the biggest club competition in the world based on their clubs’ performances in Europe this season. Last season, Serie A and the Bundesliga gained an extra Champions place last season with Bologna and Borussia Dortmund the clubs rewarded.

The Champions League underwent major reconstruction ahead of this season’s competition with the group stages replaced by a 36-team league – with four additional places. Two of those slots will be handed to clubs with the highest UEFA coefficient, who miss out on qualification and the other two will be awarded to the best performing leagues in this season’s European competitions – Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Those leagues will be decided by the average coefficient points; calculated by accumulating the total coefficient points collected per nation then divided by the number of competing clubs. Coefficient points are awarded based on results – two for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat – and they remain the same across all three competitions. Bonus points, however, are also assigned based on progression to each stage and that’s ranked by competition.

The quarter-finals of the Champions League got underway with Inter Milan securing a dramatic 2-1 away win against Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Arsenal secured a famous 3-0 win over Real Madrid in North London with Declan Rice scoring two direct free-kicks. It was a special night for Arsenal but it was also significant for the Premier League as it secured a fifth Champions League place. As the graphic below illustrates, Spain remain favourites to claim the second extra place but it can change dramatically based on results.