Roma outclassed Brighton, Fiorentina came back and won against Maccabi away, AC Milan beat Slavia by a two-goal margin, Atalanta outplayed Sporting in Lisbon and recorded a draw before the rematch at home… Only Lazio was eliminated by Bayern.The Italian clubs had another successful week in Europe. The national coefficient has been strengthened, another significant step has been taken towards winning an additional place in the Champions League. And for the first time in this century, Italy could overtake Spain in the UEFA national coefficients ranking! A combination of the good results of the clubs from the ‘Boot’ and the disastrous season for the representatives from the Pyrenees…The last time Italy was ahead of Spain in the UEFA rankings was way back in 1999. At that time, the Italians had the strongest ranking in club European football, the Spaniards were in the second position. Since 2004, Spain and England have dominated European football and alternated in the top two positions with the exception of 2015 and 2016 when they were separated by the Germans. In the last 20 years, the Italians have spent more time in the official fourth than the third league of Europe because the Germans were also more successful.##NAJAVA_MECA_7939348##But in recent years, the rise of Italian football has begun. The three finals in the European cup competitions last season announced that Serie A is slowly returning to the top, and this season has confirmed it.It is enough to see the coefficients ahead of this season:1. England 109,5702. Spain 92,9983. Germany 82,4814. Italy 81,926A lot has changed since this summer. Things went wrong for the Spaniards when Osasuna was eliminated in the qualifiers, then Sevilla finished last in the Champions League group, and Betis and Real Sociedad were eliminated in the spring duels. The same fate awaits Villarreal in the Conference League after the disaster at the Velodrome (0-4). It doesn’t look good for Atlético Madrid either in the second leg against Inter, and a tough job awaits Barça against Napoli. Only Real went further, even though they struggled and they don’t promise much with this performance level…Osimhen can surpass some Serie A legends against TorinoThose direct duels between the Spaniards and the Italians in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League can decide the status of the second league in Europe. For the Italians, in addition to the elimination of Lazio from Bayern, all clubs were “alive”. Points were collected by Inter, Napoli, Lazio, ACMilan, Roma, Atalanta and Fiorentina.The current numbers look like this:1. England 100,8032. Spain 86,6143. Italy 84,8554. Germany 81,767The Italians overtook the Germans in less than a full season, and reduced the gap with the Spaniards from 11 to less than two coefficient points! If Inter eliminate Atletico, and Napoli surprise Barcelona, AC Milan, Roma and Fiorentina confirm their passage in the second leg, and Atalanta joins in, Italy will surely overtake Spain after almost two and a half decades and become the second-best league in Europe.The Italians are pushing brilliantly on another important scale. The one where only the results from this season are recorded, which brings the two best leagues an additional place in the Champions League from next season.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The clubs from the Serie A have collected a coefficient of 15,571 this season and are convincingly in the lead. Which means that the fifth-placed team from the Apennines will go to the Champions League.The current situation is as follows:1. Italy 16,5712. Germany 15,5003. England 14,6254. France 14,4165. Spain 13,437The Italians just need to continue this rhythm a little longer and the fifth place in the Champions League is theirs to take. Although the Germans currently hold the second position, the English are breathing down their necks because they have more representatives remaining. Freiburg did a great thing for Germany last night by winning a direct duel against West Ham. If Bayern and Borussia continue to do well in the Champions League, and Leverkusen and Freiburg progress in the Europa League, then Germany has something to hope for.Manchester City, which has won every European match since the beginning of the season, brings the most to the English, but Manchester United and Newcastle ‘tripped’ them with the last places in the Champions League groups and autumn elimination. As expected, Liverpool bring points in the Europa League, but Brighton was virtually eliminated after last night’s debacle at the Olimpico (0-4). West Ham are hanging by a thread, and it is uncertain what Aston Villa will do in the second leg against Ajax in the Conference League.Points won in extra UCL spot race this week:🇮🇹 Italy added +1.000 points3 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat🇩🇪 Germany added +1.000 points2 wins, 2 draws, 1 bonus point🏴 England added +0.750 points2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, 1 bonus point pic.twitter.com/QybGzMlI6u— Football Rankings (@FootRankings) March 8, 2024 A lot will depend on Arsenal’s second leg against Porto and Borussia’s against PSV. If the Gunners are relegated and the Millionaires go through, then the Bundesliga is the favorite ahead of the Premier League for the fifth representative in the Champions League. Let’s remind you, only the two best leagues in terms of results this season each get an additional representative in the Champions League.When it comes to the UEFA rankings, France defended fifth place from the Dutch with great results in both weeks and will most likely keep it until the end. There is a big fight for the 10th position where the Scots are currently holding off the Czechs thanks to Rangers. Let us remind you that the 10th position brings one direct and one representative in the Champions League qualifiers. The 11th to 15th places are countries with two representatives each in the Champions League qualifiers.
