The seeding pots for the Champions League group stages have been announced - and straight away, the teams making pot one have come under much scrutiny.
Many have questioned the decision to include Arsenal (ranked sixth) and FC Porto (given the ranking of eighth) amongst the top seeds. Many view these teams as minor threats compared to teams like PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus who did not make the top pot.
However once you grasp an understanding of how UEFA score the teams, it may begin to make sense. Teams are scored based on all their results over the past five years in the tournament.
The coefficient points are earned by the following:
|
Champions League Group Stage 4 points for being in group stage | 2 points for every win | 1 point for a draw Champions League Knockout Stage 5 points for reaching last 16 | 1 point for extra round | 2 points for a win | 1 point for a draw Teams get 20% of their national coeffecient (the total coefficient earned by a country's teams divided by their number of teams in Europe) |
So when you consider that Arsenal have reached the last 16 of the tournament 14 times out of the last 15, you can begin to the see why they are considered the sixth best team in Europe.
The seeding pots for all the teams, excluding the final five teams coming through the play-off round, in the Champions League are:
| 1 | Barcelona; Bayern Munich; Chelsea; Real Madrid; Manchester United; Arsenal; Inter Milan; FC Porto |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid; Shakhtar Donetsk; Marseille; CSKA Moscow; Paris St Germain; Schalke |
| 2/3 | Juventus; Manchester City |
| 3 | Borussia Dortmund; Olympiakos; Galatasaray; FC Basel; Ajax |
| 3/4 | Bayer Leverkusen; Copenhagen; Anderlecht |
| 4 | Austria Vienna; Napoli; Steaua Bucharest |
