Serie A Clubs Continue To Excel In Europe For That Extra Champions League Spot

It was a mixed results for Italian clubs currently playing in Europe this season as another round of match was played in the UEFA Champions League, Europa and Conference League and now with just two matches left before the conclusion of the group phase, the results gotten could have implications for next season.

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For now, the Italian Serie A is still in the race to gain an extra spot in Europe’s elite competition as they’ve stepped even further clear of Spain, but are still locked in a battle with Germany for an additional spot in next season’s Champions League after the conclusion of Thursday night’s Europa and Conference League ties.

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It was a step In the right direction for Italy’s hopes of securing an additional Champions League spot for 2026-27, as all the Serie A representatives secured victories on Thursday night, coupled with the current result from the UCL, things are looking good at the moment.

Fiorentina beat Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in the Conference League early kick-off, before Roma’s 3-0 victory away against Celtic and Bologna’s 2-1 comeback victory against Celta Vigo in the Europa League to make it a clean sweep in the two other European competitions after 6 matches.

These add to Juventus’s 2-0 win over Pafos and Atalanta’s surprise 2-1 win over Club World Cup victors Chelsea in the Champions League earlier this week but Inter were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in San Siro, while Napoli fell to a 2-0 defeat away against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica.

The situation leaves Italy in third place in the UEFA seasonal association coefficient rankings and this is what is used to determine which two nations receive an additional Champions League spot, which will mean that the fifth team on the table will be playing in Europe’s elite competition.

The UEFA tables are expected to be officially updated later on today but figures provided by Sky Sport Italia show that Italy will be in third place on 11.071 points, behind Germany in second on 11.660 points and England in first with 13.166 points. Spain are in fourth with 10.609 points, with Portugal slightly behind them in fifth on 10.600 points.

In a related development, with less than two weeks to start of the Africa Cup of Nations, clubs in Italy will be losing some of their players to the tournament and Udinese will be the most affected as they will have players unavailable through injuries and with the AFCON approaching.

There’s a flexor lesion in Jordan Zemura’s right thigh, meaning the left wing-back will not be able to join up with Zimbabwe for the tournament but still, there is another problem as Rui Modesto will leave for Angola, while Kamara is dealing with plantar fasciitis.

Consequently, the Friulani are down to barebones and they must find an in-house solution, something to patch up the emergency on the flanks and January will come later for the market, at least for the moment they will have to look towards their academy for replacements.

Meanwhile, for another Serie A star, Ademola Lookman, he will also be heading to the tournament with Nigeria and after taking back his place at Atalanta and is fully focused on the commitment with Nigeria but for now, the focus will not be on the transfer market for him as we’ve seen recently.

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When he returns to Italy, the picture will be clearer. But right now, interest in him has not produced anything concrete after a failed move to former Serie A champions, Inter in the last summer transfer window but the La Dea will not lose much to the upcoming AFCON.

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