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How The Europa League Could Change The Premier League Title Race:

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If I had written an article where I claimed that both Manchester City and Manchester United would fail to qualify from their Champions League groups before the draw was made, I would have been laughed out of town.  Big spending City had assembled a squad many people felt could enjoy a successful debut in the Champions League and United had reached the final last season and were expected to go far again this time.

City’s prospects looked slightly less encouraging after the draw was made, with their group containing 2009 finalists Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villareal.  Most United fans would have been delighted with their draw, which saw them facing Benfica, FC Basel and Romanian side FC Galati, who were making their first appearance in the competition.  Neither side enjoyed a strong start to the group stages, with City drawing at home against Napoli, before losing to Bayern in Munich.  United drew in Portugal against Benfica, but threw away a two goal lead at home to Basel before an Ashley Young goal in injury time gave them a point.

Before Wednesday’s matchday 6 games began, the situation was like this:

Manchester City: To qualify, City had to beat Bayern Munich and hope Villareal scored their first points of the campaign by beating Napoli in Spain.

Manchester United:  To qualify, all United required was a draw in Switzerland.

City’s chances were significantly smaller than United’s, as Villareal had been Group A’s whipping boys, losing every game.  Bayern Munich had already reached the knockout stage, and rested players for their trip to Manchester.  City played well, and took the lead after a superb strike from David Silva.  They cemented the victory when Yaya Toure scored a second after 52 minutes.  At that point, City were through, with the game in Spain 0-0.  But City’s worst fears came true when an Inler goal gave Napoli the lead in the 65th minute.  When Marek Hamsik scored Napoli’s second with just over 10 minutes to go, City were out.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, United had gotten off to a bad start when Marco Streller took advantage of poor defending to give Basel the lead in the 9th minute.  United were out of sorts, and suffered a blow when captain Nemanja Vidic suffered what looked like a serious injury just before half-time.  United were finished when Alexander Frei scored a second goal with six minutes to go.  Phil Jones pulled a goal back, but it was too late and United were out too.

Unsurprisingly, Sir Alex Ferguson was not a happy man after the game.  He called the Champions League the ‘…best tournament in the world. It’s a marvellous tournament’, and went on to say that playing on Thursdays and Sundays because of the Europa League was United’s ‘penalty’ for being knocked out of the Champions League.  Roberto Mancini, on the other hand, said that the Europa League was an ‘important trophy’ for Manchester City. 

Whether he really means that or not is another story.  But the reality is that the Europa League doesn’t really suit either club.  Playing on a Thursday means fixtures being moved and shorter rest times between matches.  Tottenham are currently in the Europa League, but Harry Redknapp, and even some of their fans, would rather not be.  Spurs seem certain to go out of the competition, needing help from elsewhere to progress, but being knocked out could give them an advantage in the league.  With only Premier League and FA Cup games left, Spurs would regularly have free midweeks, allowing players to rest.  City and United of course have large squads and can rotate players, but Europa League ties can disrupt teams, and they will often drop points after playing on a Thursday, particularly in away matches.

After Arsenal’s poor start, and Chelsea’s inconsistent form, Spurs have elevated themselves into 3rd place in the Premier League, and have a game in hand over 2nd place United.  Winning that would put them four points behind the leaders City, and suddenly there would be a three-way title race.  City are still favourites, and if they can get rid of the wretched Carlos Tevez in January, and sign a new striker, they will be even stronger.  But if Spurs have no European football after Christmas, they might just be the team to push City all the way.

For more blogs search Twitter for @TheGlassCase, or leave comments @DavidWDougan.

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