Thursday Night Is Failure Night: Europa League 2017/18

[Gerontophile]

What are the permutations for which British clubs will qualify for next season? For example, there are 8 clubs left in the FA Cup but two of those will be in the Champions League, so the hypotheticals would include Chelsea winning the Cup and finishing 5th.

Do the FA Cup or Failure League runners up get an entry? Do Arsenal get anything for being League Cup runners up?

English.

[Satchmo Distel]

No I also am curious about how the other home nations approach this.

[Wouter D]

My live scores app tells me that Dortmund take a page out of the Bavarian playbook, and sub on both an Alexander and a Maximilian at half time. Desperate times call for desparate measures.

[imp]

My live scores app tells me that Dortmund take a page out of the Bavarian playbook, and sub on both an Alexander and a Maximilian at half time. Desperate times call for desparate measures.

I genuinely have no idea what the fuck Dortmund were playing at tonight, unless it was a genuine, conscious attempt to be eliminated from the competition. If it wasn't, then talk about extending Stöger's contract should be estrangulated in the morning. If it was, then sack him anyway - given the players at his disposal, that was a shocker. They looked like Hartlepool in a relegation struggle.

[Ray de Galles]

An all time classic dive from Welbeck tonight to win a penalty and take the momentum away from Milan a couple of minutes after Calhanoglu’s fantastic strike threatened to make a game of it. He tried to clip his own calf, failed to connect properly so just sort of laid down in stages, it’s cocktail of cynicism and ineptitude was intoxicating.

Talk amongst us as the second half wound down was if we had ever seen a worse performance from a striker while scoring multiple goals. Very little else to report apart from the general shock at Borini now lining up at right back. Milan’s support was tremendous though.

[jwdd27]

Last 8:
Atletico
Lazio
Arsenal
Marseille
Leipzig
CSKA
Sporting
Salzburg

From 8 separate countries. Or six countries and a drinks company.

[Wouter D]

I genuinely have no idea what the fuck Dortmund were playing at tonight, unless it was a genuine, conscious attempt to be eliminated from the competition. If it wasn't, then talk about extending Stöger's contract should be estrangulated in the morning. If it was, then sack him anyway - given the players at his disposal, that was a shocker. They looked like Hartlepool in a relegation struggle.

I wish I were fundamentally surprised. They didn't exactly set the world on fire in the previous round either. The exact degree of limpness of the capitulation is the annoying bit.

[blameless]

Satchmo: Scotland gets 1 CL and 3 EL places. The winners of the Scottish Cup get a Europa League place, as do the 2nd and 3rd placed league teams (or 3rd and 4th if the cup-winner finished 2nd). Scottish Cup runners-up get a Europa place if the winner is in the Champions League. Scottish League Cup hasn't provided a route to Europe since about 2001.

[seand]

. Scottish Cup runners-up get a Europa place if the winner is in the Champions League. .

they don't... If Celtic do the double the cup EL spot reverts to the league, under newish UEFA rules. Didn't matter last year, Aberdeen qualified through the league anyway. Happened in Norway last season (16-17) Rosenborg did the double, cup finalists Kongsvinger missed out. And Eintracht lost the German cup final to Bayern and missed out on Europe

[Gangster Octopus]

Quarter Finals:

Lazio v CED Salzburg
Atletico Madrid v Sporting Lisbon
Arsenal v CSKA Moscow
CED Leipzig v Marseille

[pebblethefish]

Ooooh, something new to boycott!

[blameless]

seand: I stand corrected. I knew UEFA frowned on cup runners-up getting a Europa place, but I thought the SFA had simply ignored them (much like the FA does with letting their League Cup winners qualify).

[ursus arctos]

The spots for the English and French league cup winners have been regularised by UEFA. I don’t think they have made any accommodations for Scotland.

3.03 In special circumstances, the winner of another official domestic competition may be entered for the UEFA Europa League in place of the lowest ranking top domestic championship representative referred to in Paragraph 3.02(c), provided such a competition has been approved by UEFA before the start of the season in question (see Annex A).

3.04 If the winner of the domestic cup qualifies for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League via the domestic championship, the highest ranking non- qualified domestic championship club qualifies for the UEFA Europa League at the stage initially reserved for the lowest ranking top domestic championship representative. If the winner of the domestic cup qualifies for UEFA Champions League, the access stage initially reserved for the domestic cup winner is reserved for the club which finishes the domestic championship in the highest position out of all the clubs which qualify for the UEFA Europa League from the association concerned (see Annex A). In both cases each representative of the domestic championship then enters the competition at the stage initially reserved for the domestic championship representative ranked immediately above it.

[blameless]

Why am I not at all surprised that UEFA would grandfather in exceptions for the big nations but not the small ones? It's especially annoying as the Scottish League Cup has been running 14 years longer than England's version and 48 years longer than the French one.

[pebblethefish]

Did the SFA ask?

[Satchmo Distel]

The English League Cup has begun to be dominated by the big six anyway so its exception may be becoming pointless.

[jeanmid]

Quarter Finals:

Lazio v CED Salzburg
Atletico Madrid v Sporting Lisbon
Arsenal v CSKA Moscow
CED Leipzig v Marseille

Oh that's a good idea, I suppose when Arsenal fans get their heads kicked in, they'll get the blame.

[Satchmo Distel]

I wouldn't blame them but might call them masochists for making the trip, given the obvious likelihood of discomforts and harassment.

[Antepli Ejderha]

It's got to be Sporting Atletico for me tonight, a choice of four games but after the antics of the Sporting president in the last week I'm hoping this won't be dull.

Arsenal are as good as through and the other two matches feature RB franchise teams so that also makes the decision easier.

[Gerontophile]

Arsenal are not messing about, team-selection wise.

[Gerontophile]

And neither are sugary mess Leipzig.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Arsenal are not messing about, team-selection wise.

You're not wrong there, very weird that he's picked his best available 11 when the game is as good as won. Perhaps the two champions league matches this week put the shits into him.

I'm watching on BT Sport but the feed seems to be two minutes behind judging by the app I've got.

[Gerontophile]

Yeah, after 3 minutes of intense scrutiny, I've come to the conclusion that Marseilles are pretty shite.

[Gerontophile]

And sorry, I won't mention those 12 goals that just happened.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Yeah, after 3 minutes of intense scrutiny, I've come to the conclusion that Marseilles are pretty shite.

They need three now.

Torrential rain in Lisbon tonight, Simeone looks soaked after 5 minutes.