Newcastle are unbeaten in their ‘group of death’ in the Champions League and now sit atop the table.
Newcastle United has made an astonishing comeback to the Champions League, winning four points in their first two games. The Magpies were seeded fourth in the ‘group of death’ alongside PSG, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund.
Following the 0-0 stalemate with Milan at the San Siro, where the hosts dominated, it appeared that they were in for a nasty awakening. However, Eddie Howe’s side deserves credit for securing a draw, which served as the perfect springboard for PSG’s visit to St. James’ Park.
The Toon’s 4-1 demolition of the French champs will go down in history as a memorable night, but it won’t mean much if the Magpies don’t make it out of the group. A win over Dortmund this evening would be a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stages, or, at the very least, the Europa League.
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But, on average, how many points do teams need to advance to the next round? Howe’s men presently have four points, and Chronicle Live has calculated the mathematics to see how many more points they need to finish second.
Last season, clubs in second place needed an average of 11.38 points to advance to the knockout stages of the competition. You can’t score decimal points in football, as we all know. Both Napoli and Liverpool qualified for the knockout stages with 15 points that season, however Borussia Dortmund qualified for the competition with only nine points.
In 2021/22, the average points needed from six games was just 9.75, with groupings substantially tighter across the board. In a group that included Liverpool, Porto, and AC Milan, Altetico Madrid qualified for the knockout stages with just 7 points.
Chelsea qualified with the most points of any second-placed team that season (13). The year before, however, was considerably more on trend, with an average of 11.38 points in 2020/21.
Borussia Monchengladbach required only 8 points to go to the competition’s knockout stages, albeit their considerably superior goal difference aided them. Barcelona, on the other hand, finished second with 15 points, ensuring their participation in the next round.
A points total of 11-12 usually guarantees a participation in the knockout stages of the competition, although the overall points required to finish second have been lower in groups of death, such as the one the Toon are in. Home form will be crucial, and tonight’s game against Dortmund will be another big test.
