Bayern Munich Wednesday secured a spot in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League following a dramatic 4-2 victory over Italian giants Juventus.
The Old Lady’s thought they were cruising to the last eight after Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado had given them an unbelievable 2-0 lead at the Allianz Arena.
But strikes from Robert Lewandowski’s and Thomas Muller’s forced the match into extra time before Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman buried the Italians.
The victory means Pep Guardiola’s side will be making their fourth successive appearance in the last eight and aiming for a sixth Champions League title.
While Juventus on the hand failed to replicate their last season’s exploits which saw them narrowly slip to Barcelona in the finals.
But the most successful club in Italy will be more concerned about the implication of their defeat to the German champions.
Their defeat means that Italy has no chance of catching England in UEFA’s coefficient table.
And the Barclays Premier League has retained its four Champions League places for another year despite Arsenal’s exit on Wednesday evening.
Lazio is the only Serie A club remaining in Europe at the moment following Juventus exit.
Had teams from Italy fared better in this year’s two competitions, the Premier League could have lost one of its places in the Champions League for the 2017/18 season.
But it is now mathematically impossible for Italy to overtake England in UEFA’s coefficient table – even if Lazio go on to win the Europa League.
UEFA’s coefficient ranking system is based on the last five seasons, with clubs from each nation scoring points for wins or draws in both the Europa League and Champions League. England are currently 3.97 points ahead of Italy.
Italy’s chances of stealing a place from England will increase next season as the 2011-12 campaign – in which Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final – will not count in the coefficient standings.
