Slavia Praag verliest, coëfficiëntenzorgen Nederland nemen af
Slavia Praag ging in blessuretijd onderuit tegen RC Lens, waardoor Tsjechië geen punten pakte en de druk op PSV's Champions League-coëfficiëntpositie afneemt.
Lens hit back twice in stoppage time to win it, leaving the Czechs without a point from their opening Champions League fixture.
That matters for the Netherlands, currently eighth in the 2022-27 cycle that sets the ticket allocation for 2028/29. Portugal and Belgium sit out of reach this year. The concern is the bottom of the list: finish 11th and the Dutch champions would have to enter Champions League qualifying rather than go straight into the group stage. The cushion over 11th place stands at almost eight points in the 2022-27 cycle, but in the parallel 2023-28 cycle it has shrunk to just one point, with the Netherlands ninth there.
Turkey and Czechia are among the closest challengers in that tighter race. Fenerbahçe also failed to win on Thursday, drawing at home with AS Roma, a result worth 0.200 of a point against PSV's 0.167 for their own draw — Turkish points are shared across five clubs, Dutch points across six, so the draw still let the Netherlands' nearest pursuer close the gap slightly. Czechia's early elimination from the points, though, works the other way and eases the pressure on the Dutch coefficient for now.
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