European place at high risk as Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal lose but Chelsea give hope

PSV celebrate after beating Manchester United in the Champions League

ENGLISH clubs are at risk of losing one of their four Champions League places after a poor showing in the opening round of European competition.

 

Figures released by UEFA show Italy are closing in on England's club coefficient ranking, which determines how many European places are awarded.

The top three ranked countries are given four places in the Champions League.

 

England are currently third behind Germany and leaders Spain with a ranking of 65.659.

Fourth-placed Italy, who have three places in Europe's premier club competition are not far behind in fourth with a ranking of 61.605.

The rest of the season's ranking points will be determined by performances and results in the Champions League and Europa League this season.

 

Arsenal were also beaten by Dinamo Zagreb on a difficult opening night for English clubs in Europe

Manchester United's loss to PSV in their Group B opener and Arsenal's defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in Group F did not help the cause.

Meanwhile, Manchester City threw away a lead at home to Italian champions Juventus in Group D but Chelsea won their Group G clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Tottenham were also victorious in the Europa league, while Liverpool drew away at Bordeaux.

 

At the end of last season England were second behind Spain.

However, that was based on rankings which are calculated over a five-year period and the 2010-2011 season is now irrelevant.

That was a particularly good year for English clubs, as United reached the final of the Champions League, and was a poor one for the Italians.