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7 months ago
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Jadon Sancho and Marcel Sabitzer dealt Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag a huge blow after Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League semi-finals with a stunning comeback win over Atletico Madrid.
Dortmund came into the tie 2-1 down, and were perhaps lucky to not concede more at the Metropolitano Stadium last Wednesday, considering Atletico's dominant performance.
Yet, Edin Terzic's side produced an epic comeback to win 5-4 on aggregate at Signal Iduna Park last night, with ex-Manchester United star Marcel Sabitzer, firing the Bundesliga side into the semi-finals with 74th minute strike.
Sancho, who returned to Dortmund on loan in January was on the field for all four goals and alongside Sabitzer, may have compounded further woes for the Red Devils boss in what has been a rollercoaster of a season.
United are seventh in the table, having not won in their last four games and the chances of the Premier League getting a fifth side in next season's Champions League took a dent with Dortmund's victory.
Man United loanee Jadon Sancho may have dealt his parent club a major blow on Tuesday
He and Marcel Sabitzer helped Dortmund beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League
It means that Germany sit ahead of England in UEFA's coefficient ratings ahead of next season
Next season, the tournament will be expanded from 32 teams to 36 teams, meaning there are two additional spots up for grabs.
UEFA will award those places to the countries that have the best co-efficient across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League this season.
Italy are currently top of that ranking with an average coefficient of 18.428, with AC Milan, Roma, Atalanta and Fiorentina all still in European competitions.
Germany are currently ranked second in the standings at 17.214 after Dortmund's win on Tuesday, just 0.464 points ahead of England who sit third in the standings.
Alongside Dortmund, Germany also have Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in European tournaments this season.
England meanwhile is currently represented by Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa.
Should England surpass Germany in the standings, it will mean the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League this season will qualify for the Champions League.
It could also be a big blow for Tottenham and Newcastle, who sit fifth and sixth in the league standings, with Spurs 10 points clear of the Magpies and Red Devils who sit level on 60 points.
Both Newcastle and Manchester United crashed out of Europe in December after finishing bottom of their respective Champions League groups.
The two countries with the best coefficient will receive an extra Champions League spot
Man United are currently at risk of not qualifying for the Champions League next season
But Sancho and Sabitzer may have thrown a spanner in the works for United.
It comes as Sancho's contract at the Bundesliga side set to expire later this summer. Dortmund have been plotting to make the £73million winger's move to the Signal Iduna Park permanent - with his contract at United set to expire in 2026.
Sancho, who has returned two goals and two assists for Dortmund since his return, recently liked a social media post that appeared to criticise his time at Man United.
The winger had been exiled by Ten Hag after he had branded the Dutch manager a lier over his criticisms over his training standards.
Sancho had claimed he had been made a scapegoat in an inflammatory social media post in response to his manager's claims, but Ten Hag was firm in his stance, with the winger being forced to train away from the first team before going out on loan.
Whether he will return to United in the summer remains to be seen after he was exiled by Ten Hag last season, but has made it clear that he is happy playing in Germany again.
'I'm just grateful that I got the goal for the team,' he said. 'I've always got a special place for Borussia Dortmund, this is where I kind of made my name so I've got to be grateful to them but also to my team-mates for believing in me.'
Sancho and Dortmund will now advance to take on Paris-Saint Germain in the semi-finals
Dortmund will now take on PSG in the next round after they came back to beat Barcelona
How UEFA's Coefficient rankings work
By Kim Morrissey
How does coefficient ranking work?
The coefficient ranking to simply put it, is about the best average performance of all teams taking part in Europe for each country - and the two leagues with the best score earns an extra spot in next year's European competition.
How are points won?
Across the three competitions in Europe teams can win points for their team to improve their coefficient ranking.
The easiest way to do so, is by winning your European games.
Each win is worth two points, a draw is worth one point and a team is giving nothing for a loss.
However if a match ends in a draw in extra-time after 120 minutes, that result is taking not the result of the penalty.
Meaning teams will earn one point each.
Teams are also awarded bonus points for advancing to different stages of the competition.
This is an incentive to help give extra prominence to those teams that do well in the prestigious higher up competitions.
What teams will qualify for Europe if their country earns the extra spot?
If the Premier League gets the extra spot...
*If the winners of either Cup finish in the top six, the cup spot will be awarded to the club who finished in 7th and 8th.
If Serie A, La Liga or the Bundesliga earn one of the extra places...
*If a team wins the UEL this year and does not qualify for a Champions League spot domestically, they will also feature in the Champions League - taking the number of teams from six to seven in the UCL from one league.
Back at Old Trafford, meanwhile, Ten Hag's side are very much in danger of missing out on playing in the Champions League next season, with the Dutch manager having recently expressed the financial ramifications that missing out on qualifying could have for the club.
'We don't even have to discuss this. What exactly is the impact in this moment? I don't know,' he said in February.
'You have more financial power when you achieve the Champions League and that is our target, absolutely.'
Dortmund will now take on PSG in the next round of the tournament after Luis Enrique's side also sealed an epic comeback victory on Tuesday night against Barcelona.
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