The cost of glory: How European participation affects domestic performance

Bundesliga

RB Leipzig went down from runners-up to 6th place in the league

The Bundesliga had 4 new participants in Europe this season - RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, FC Koln and Freiburg.

RB Leipzig, runners up in the Bundesliga last season, endured a tough second season in the top-flight of German football, as they finished sixth this time around. Leipzig also lost 14 points in the process (67 points in 2016/17 as against 53 points in 2017/18). As a result, Leipzig will be competing in the EL instead of the CL.

In the CL, Leipzig finished third in the group stage and dropped down into the RO32 of the EL. Drawn against Napoli, Leipzig held their nerves to beat the Italians on away goals ina 3-3 aggregate scoreline and went on to meet Zenit St. Petersburg in the Quarters.

Leipzig did well to beat the Russians with a 3-2 scoreline, and were drawn to play against Marseille. That was the end of the European run for the newbies, as they lost out 5-2 against the eventual finalists.

Despite a disappointing EL campaign, Hoffenheim were successful in the league

Hoffenheim, under the young Julian Nagelsmann, were the surprise packages of the BuLi last season when they finished in the fourth place, just behind Borussia Dortmund. This season has been even better than their previous season, as they finished third on the table beating out Dortmund on goal difference.

Despite a bettering of places, their points tally suffered a drop of 7 points (62 points in the 2016/17 season as against 55 points in the 2017/18 season).

After losing out to Liverpool in the CL qualifiers, Hoffenheim had to settle for the Europa League. Europe was not too kind on the Germans as Hoffenheim finished last in the group stages - a group consisting of Braga, Ludogorets, and Istanbul Buyuksehir.

European duty turned out to be FC Koln's pandoras box as they finished last and got themselves relegated from the Bundesliga this season after finishing 5th last season. Unsurprisingly, they suffered a massive 27 point drop (49 points in 2016/17 as opposed to 22 points in 2017/18).

There was no compensation from Europe as well - FC Koln finished in the third place in their group and failed to qualify for the RO32.

The fourth team - SC Freiburg, lost out in the third qualification round on the Europa league against Slovenia's NK Domzale. Interestingly, they still suffered a net loss of 8 places and 12 points (48 points in 2016/17 as opposed to 36 points in 2017/18).