Champions League Extra Slot

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FIXTURES

Champions League, Knock-out Play-offs, Leg 2: Real Madrid vs Manchester City, Agg 3-2, 20:00 / 15:00. City have been eliminated in all four previous knockout ties after losing the first leg and are currently on a 3-game losing streak away from home in Europe–Pep Guardiola’s worst ever. PSV Eindhoven vs Juventus, Agg 1-2, 20:00 / 15:00. PSV boast a 12-game unbeaten run in European home matches. Meanwhile, Juventus have picked up form again, winning four matches in a row in all competitions. Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP, Agg 3-0, 17:45 / 12:45. In their last seven games at home, Dortmund have only won once, but Sporting are winless in seven of their last eight European away games. 

Editor’s Reminder: Aston Villa host Liverpool tonight at 20:00 / 15:00 to close the Premier League’s Matchweek 25. See the reason why this fixture is mid-week here.

More results…

• Champions League: Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (Agg 3-2) (Match Report) | AC Milan 1-1 Feyenoord (Agg 1-2) | Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge (Agg 2-5) | Benfica 3-3 Monaco (4-3)

• EFL Championship: Preston 1-1 Millwall

Correction note: Yesterday, the stat on Bayern Munich going 20 games unbeaten in the UCL was referring to their home form, not the whole competition.

TOP TALKING POINTS

Champions League Extra Slot

The English Premier League and Spanish La Liga are in poll position to be awarded an extra place in next season’s Champions League. Two leagues per season are rewarded an extra slot based on UEFA’s coefficient–it’s calculated based on the collective performance of all teams from each country taking part in European competitions. Dive deeper into how the coefficient is calculated here.

Last season, the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A were rewarded with an extra slot, benefiting Borussia Dortmund and Bologna. This season, the Premier League are in a strong position to secure an additional slot, with six of seven English clubs already through to the Champions League round of 16. Manchester United and Tottenham are also through the round of 16 in the Europa League. La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga are in close pursuit—see how these leagues are performing in Europe here.

Under the old Champions League format, a maximum of five clubs from one league could qualify. Interestingly, with the expansion of the tournament, it’s possible for seven teams to secure a place: the top four, fifth through UEFA’s coefficient, and the winners of the Champions League and Europe League, if they do not finish in the top four.

Historically, it’s clear which league will receive the extra slot by March. But the variety of teams competing in each tournament will likely delay confirmation.

Prem’s US Tour

Four Premier League clubs—Manchester United, Bournemouth, West Ham, and Everton–are in talks to play a pre-season tournament in the United States in July this year. The tournament, which is part of the Premier League’s Summer Series, is expected to be hosted in Atlanta, New Jersey, and Chicago. It’s estimated that Premier League clubs can earn over $10m for pre-season tours in the US.

The Premier League hoped another club would join, specifically Liverpool or Arsenal, but the former has decided to travel to Asia in the summer instead. Arsenal are expected to do the same.

As clubs complain about congested schedules–resulting in the controversial removal of fixtures like FA Cup replays–long-distance travel for pre- and post-season fixtures has been criticised. Last season, Tottenham and Newcastle travelled the most by some distance with 33,459 and 32,540 air miles, respectively, for pre and post-season fixtures collectively. The next highest was Manchester United with 12,864 miles.

Mbappe’s Ownership Woes

SM Caen, the French Ligue 2 club owned by Kylian Mbappe, is on a record-high ten-loss streak. The historic club could be relegated to the third tier for the first time in 40 years.

Last year, Mbappe bought an 80% stake in the club for around $15m. Caen supporters subsequently protested against the Real Madrid striker's ownership earlier this year. "Mbappé, SMC is not your toy," one sign read, referencing the ownership group's decision to sack the popular Nicolas Seube after a disappointing first half of the campaign.

There was no public statement from Mbappe following the takeover, and he has not spoken publicly about the club. Reports from French media suggested that Caen was Mbappe’s second choice to buy–that Monaco, where he made his name, was his first choice.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that centre-back Antonio Rudiger is ready to play in Wednesday’s Champions League play-off second leg against Manchester City (More) | The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has condemned the "repulsive" abuse towards referee Jose Munuera Montero after sending off Jude Bellingham for swearing (More)

> VAR audio from Myles Lewis-Skelley’s red card has been released (More) | Leyton Orient have entered into a period of exclusivity over takeover talks with a potential buyer (More)

> German clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and Cologne have been urged by animal charities to drop their live eagle and goat mascots from matches (More)

> Lokomotiv Plovdiv fans attack an FA delegate during the opening of the club’s new stadium stand (More)

Americas

> The MLS has released Power Rankings ahead of the season’s start this weekend (More) | Inter Miami's first-leg match of the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Sporting Kansas City will now be played on Feb. 19, after it was postponed due to the weather (More)

> The Girls Academy (GA) has launched a two-tier league designed to aid the development of elite girls’ football (More)

> USL Championship’s preseason round-up (More)

Rest of the World

> Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr drew 0-0 at Persepolis in their last Asian Champions League group stage; they finished third in the West group as the top eight advance (More) | Johor Darul Ta'zim handed former champions Pohang Steelers a 5-2 thrashing on Tuesday to eliminate the South Koreans from the Asian Champions League (More)

> A club that missed out on winning Afghanistan’s top division on goal difference has disbanded in protest at what it says is the national federation’s failure to properly investigate allegations of match-fixing (More)

> A Saudi Arabian company has agreed to buy a minority stake in British sports broadcaster DAZN (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Is it time for MLS to adopt a promotion-relegation system instead of a closed league?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📈 Absolutely... (90%)

🟨  🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅 Nope... (8%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (2%)

Your punditry takes:

• 📈 G.W: “The promotion-relegation system is simply the best in my opinion. Come the end of the season, using the Premier League as an example, teams are always competing. You have the teams fighting relegation at the bottom 3rd of the table, teams fighting for chances in European spots in the middle 3rd, and the top 3rd is fighting for the League title and Champions League. It’s drama at its finest.”

• 🙅 T.A: “MLS is not Europe. Clubs are not deeply rooted into communities and families for 100+ years. If a team were to be relegated, it would be a massive detriment to the business as fans would not return. Not to mention anything "lower league" in the US is considered minor league (see baseball) where attendances are sparse. The US would need a major shift in culture, otherwise teams will be out of business similar to every other pro league that existed prior.”

• ✍️ C.P: “Yes, it would be great to see a top league go this route in one of the American sports leagues. However, it would never ever happen, unfortunately. With MLS being a closed league and it was created as such, there is no incentive for owners to give up the shared revenue streams and risk demotion. Furthermore, I just don’t see how a new group of owners could come in and make it financially interesting for the current owner group. I can’t see 50 or more professional teams being able to survive and be solvent long-term.”

EXTRA TIME

Atalanta's captain completely loses his cool. (via X)

The reasons MLS doesn’t have promotion and relegation.

Everton fans react to their new stadium. (via X)

Why is Jude Bellingham facing such a long suspension?

Analysis of the USWNT ahead of the SheBelieves Cup.

Comparing former players to Europe’s current elite.

Why Liverpool are delaying contract renewals.

A US superfan visits four UK games in 48 hours.

Chris Wood’s journey of 12 clubs in 13 years. (video)

Sleeve crest logos change depending on the club’s colours. (via X)

Which Premier League clubs will qualify for the next Champions League?

GAME FACE ON

Question: Can you name every male player to play for both Real Madrid and Liverpool since 1992?

Clue: 10 players.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Champions League Knock-out Play-offs

• Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP (Agg 3-0) (17:45)

• PSG vs Brest (Agg 3-0) (20:00)

• PSV vs Juventus (Agg 1-2) (20:00)

• Real Madrid vs Manchester City (Agg 3-2) (20:00)

Premier League

• Aston Villa vs Liverpool (19:30)

EFL Championship

• Luton Town vs Plymouth Argyle (19:45)

Liga MX

• Atlas vs Necaxa (03:10)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Michael Owen. Steve McManaman. Fernando Morientes. Xabi Alonso. Alvaro Arbeloa. Fabinho. Nuri Sahin. Antonio Nunez. Jerzy Dudek. Nicholas Anelka.