Newcastle United beat Benfica 3-0 in the Champions League at St James’ Park on Tuesday thanks to a goal from Anthony Gordon and a Harvey Barnes brace.
Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Benfica and the 4-0 win at Union Saint-Gilloise earlier this month has seen Eddie Howe’s side bounce back from a narrow opening matchday defeat to Barcelona in emphatic fashion. With three games out of eight played, Newcastle sit in the top eight of the Champions League group phase.
Should they be able to stay there, it would grant progress straight through to the last-16. Finishing ninth to 24th would see them enter a seeded play-off match while finishing 25th or below would see them exit the competition entirely.
Not only have Newcastle won back-to-back matches in the competition, they have done so while picking up two of their biggest Champions League wins ever.
Newcastle United handed big UEFA Champions League boost
Newcastle’s win over Benfica boosts their chances of progressing to the next stage of the Champions League. It also boosts their UEFA coefficient score, which was in desparate need of improving when the group phase draw was made.
Newcastle’s two Champions League ventures in recent seasons have seen them drawn in pot four, the lowest pot, due to a lack of recent success on the continent.
The Magpies didn’t have a coefficient score the last time they were in the Champions League and were drawn into a ‘group of death’ alongside AC Milan, PSG and Borussia Dortmund.
The change in format to a 36-team group phase means the coefficients and pots are not quite as punishing this time around as every club must face two teams from either pot regardless.
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Newcastle United’s updated UEFA coefficient explained
Newcastle’s previous Champions League campaign, which saw them beat PSG 4-1, draw 1-1 with them away and draw 0-0 at AC Milan, granted them a coefficient score of 8.000 despite finishing bottom of the group.
Newcastle received 4.000 for entering the Champions League group stage, 2.000 for beating PSG and 1.000 apiece for the two draws.
But the change in format has given more weight to Champions League qualification this time around.
Newcastle United received 6.000 coefficient points for entering the Champions League group phase this season.
Teams in the Europa League or Conference League don’t receive such a boost and can only accumulate points for winning or drawing matches.
Newcastle's 4-0 win over Union SG has granted them a further 2.000 points, meaning their coefficient score has already equalled the score from the 2023/24 Champions League campaign.
And with more games to play this season and the potential of qualifying out of the group, Newcastle’s coefficient score has the potential to increase significantly.
Newcastle’s current UEFA club coefficient, which combines all coefficient scores from the previous five seasons, stood at 16.000 before kick-off on Tuesday night. But the win over Benfica increases the club’s score to 18.000 with plenty of potential to increase further with five group phase matches left to play.
As this is still below the Premier League’s base coefficient (currently 19.645), Newcastle’s coefficient for competition draws will still be that of the Premier League rather than its individual standing until they win more Champions League matches. Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, who have no recent history in Europe prior to this season, also have the default Premier League coefficient.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa, who reached the quarter-final of the Champions League and semi-final of the Conference League in each of the last two seasons, have a strong coefficient of 51.250.
West Ham United, despite not being in Europe in each of the last two seasons, have a coefficient of 69.000 having won the Conference League in 2023.
A couple more wins for Newcastle in the Champions League are likely to be enough to surpass the Premier League base coefficient moving forward and finally give the club a coefficient of its own recognised by UEFA.
Having a strong coefficient may not help Newcastle massively in terms of future European competition draws, but it will help England’s country coefficient, which could lead to more Champions League places in upcoming seasons.
The strong performance of English clubs in Europe last season saw the Premier League granted an extra Champions League place through the European Performance Spot, which saw Newcastle qualify for the competition despite finishing fifth.
English UEFA club coefficients ranked
Here is a ranking of all English clubs based on their coefficient (coefficients will update following this week’s remaining European fixtures):
1. Manchester City - 113.750
2. Liverpool - 109.500
3. Arsenal - 87.000
4. Chelsea - 84.000
5. Manchester United - 76.500
6. West Ham United - 69.000
7. Tottenham Hotspur - 64.250
8. Aston Villa - 51.250
-------Club with less than the Premier League default coefficient-------
9. Newcastle United - 18.000
10. Brighton & Hove Albion - 16.000
11. Leicester City - 13.000
12. Crystal Palace - 2.000
13. Nottingham Forest - 1.000
14. All other clubs - 0.000
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