French clubs got off to a thunderous start in the Champions League and Europa League. At the start of the season, no other nation is doing better.
French football can puff out the chest. While the first day of the Europa League ended this Thursday evening, a week after the big debut of the Champions League, French clubs have for the moment displayed an excellent record on the European scene.
In C1 and C3, the representatives of Ligue 1 recorded four victories thanks to PSG (against Girona), Monaco (Barça), Brest (Sturm Graz) and OL (Olympiacos). OGC Nice, for its part, conceded a draw against Real Sociedad, while Lille was a poor performer with a defeat at Sporting.
No nation has done as well as France
On this first day of competition, no other nation did as well as France. England, Germany and Portugal had to be content with three victories on the European stage, while Spain, Italy and the Netherlands had two successes.
In the UEFA rankings, France therefore secures its fifth place, essential for having four representatives in the Champions League (three direct qualifiers + one play-off). The Netherlands (6th) are at 4.646 points, while Germany (4th) still has a comfortable lead (+12.531 points).
