Prem sides have to halt their slide

THE Premier League big guns will need to keep on firing in this season’s Champions League – or face an embarrassing slide out of European football’s top three.

An unbeaten round of matches in the opening games of the group stage has handed the top flight a solid platform after five years of dismal underachievement in Europe’s flagship tournament.

Things are, though, about to get a lot harder. And Serie A is waiting to pounce.

The Premier League has never been ranked outside the top three in UEFA rankings since they were first introduced back in 2003. But another season of failure in Europe’s top competition could see Serie A topple the Premier League from its perch and see it languishing behind Spain, Germany and Italy in fourth place.

That would not impact the number of Champions League places on offer. But it would represent a huge blow to the Premier League’s prestige.

No English club has contested a Champions League final since 2012, when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich. In the past five seasons, only Chelsea and Manchester City have reached the last four.

Juventus, meanwhile, have reached two finals in three years. La Liga is now 27 points ahead of the Premier League in the UEFA rankings and Serie A has narrowed the Anglo-Italian gap to less than two points.

The Italians could comfortably leapfrog the Premier League if the likes of Juventus, Roma and Napoli out-perform their English counterparts this season.

It’s a similar story in UEFA’s club rankings with Manchester City the only English team in the top 10.

Spain boast the top three in the shape of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

Sevilla – serial winners of the Europa League – also find themselves in sixth place.

It’s an illustration of the size of the task facing Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.