Newcastle United 2-0 Athletic Club: Joe Buck reaction
Newcastle United made it three wins in a row in the Champions League as they beat Athletic Club 2-0 on Wednesday night at St James’ Park.
The Magpies have taken nine points out of a possible 12 so far following a 2-0 win over Spanish side Athletic Club. Dan Burn and Joelinton scored to help Eddie Howe’s side to another comfortable win at St James’ Park.
Should Newcastle be able to keep their place inside the top eight of the 36-team table with four group phase games remaining, they would progress straight through to the last-16 of the competition.
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.
But some form of progress is looking increasingly likely given that 11 points was enough to secure a top 24 finish last season and Newcastle still have four games to play.
NUFC’s UEFA Champions League boost
Newcastle’s win over Athletic Club provides a further boost to their UEFA coefficient score, which has now been updated.
The Magpies have been drawn from pot four, the lowest pot possible, in their two most recent Champions League campaigns due to a lack of 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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Explained: Newcastle United’s updated UEFA coefficient
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.
A win in Europe grants a club a further 2.000 points to their coefficient score, while a draw is worth 1.000 point. As Newcastle have won three of their four games so far in the competition this season, they have already accumulated a score of 12.000 for this season alone.
But as UEFA coefficient scores take into account European performance in each of the last five seasons, Newcastle have 8.000 added to their score from their 2023/24 Champions League campaign - leaving a total of 20.000.
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.
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 ahead of this week’s Europa League fixtures.
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.
Another win for Newcastle in the Champions League will be enough to surpass the Premier League base coefficient moving forward and finally give the club a coefficient of its own recognised by UEFA. The Premier League’s base coefficient is currently 20.045, but will increase as the season progresses.
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 - 115.750
2. Liverpool - 113.500
3. Arsenal - 89.000
4. Chelsea - 87.000
5. Manchester United - 76.500
6. West Ham United - 69.000
7. Tottenham Hotspur - 67.250
8. Aston Villa - 51.250
-------Club with less than the Premier League default coefficient-------
9. Newcastle United - 20.000
10. Brighton & Hove Albion - 16.000
11. Leicester City - 13.000
12. Nottingham Forest - 3.000
13. Crystal Palace - 2.000
14. All other clubs - 0.000
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