Thanks to Feyenoord and AZ, the Netherlands experienced another strong week in terms of coefficients. However, Portugal managed to close the gap to the current number six. There may be additional points for the Netherlands in a month’s time.
Points obtained
The week that started disappointingly due to Ajax’s late defeat at Liverpool (2-1), ended successfully. Feyenoord waltzed over the Austrian Sturm Graz (6-0)while AZ thanks a 4-1 victory over FC Vaduz smell the next round of the Conference League already. Once again, the third club tournament in Europe proves to be a guarantee of coefficient points. AZ already provided almost fifteen percent of the total number of points achieved in the Netherlands (4,500 points) this season.
The picture of how the Netherlands stands after the second European group match is logically not complete due to the postponement of Arsenal – PSV. That clash will be overtaken on October 20 in London, where the death of Queen Elizabeth II is mourned this week.
Points Portugal and France
The Portuguese experienced a week to dream of. Sporting CP stunted by beating Tottenham Hotspur, while Fredrik Aursnes’ Benfica kept undefeated under Roger Schmidt and Juventus plunged into mourning (1-2 win). It is particularly clever that both Portuguese teams are on course for wintering in the Champions League, which is offset by a huge coefficient bonus. Because SC Braga won against Union Berlin, the total weekly yield of the Portuguese came to one point.
Number five France started strong. Paris Saint-Germain did not choke on Maccabi Haifa and provided 0.400 point. It is worrying for the Netherlands that PSG can hardly miss wintering and that the top club with all the stars on board finally seems to be warming up. In their current form, the Parisians are among the big title favorites, which should see France rack up a mountain of points in the coming months.
Thursday, however, turned out to be a terrible day for the French. OGC Nice and Stade Rennes still played a draw, but AS Monaco and FC Nantes went down. Because France therefore only took 0.333 points on Thursday, the Netherlands was able to profit narrowly.
Current state
The Netherlands still holds the sixth place firmly in their hands. In the hunt for two permanent Champions League tickets from 2024, the four Dutch participants must ensure that Portugal stays at an appropriate distance. Nevertheless, the Portuguese managed to catch up with the Netherlands by 0.200 points. The gap between the numbers six and seven of the coefficient ranking is therefore now 1.751 points. France has 1,431 points more than the Netherlands.
It does not matter for the Netherlands whether the season ends in fifth or sixth position. Both places provide two tickets for the group stage of the Champions League. In addition, the numbers five and six may provide an extra participant.
5. France – 52,331
6. Netherlands – 50,900
7. Portugal – 49.049
View an explanation of the coefficient ranking here:
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