Arsenal win guarantees five Champions League spots for Premier League and SEVEN teams could yet qualify
Five English teams are guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League next season thanks to Arsenal beating Real Madrid on Tuesday. The Gunners hammered the current European Champions 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Arsenal thumped Real Madrid to give the Premier League another Champions League spotGetty England will have an additional Champions League place because they are top of the UEFA coefficient table, and those behind them can’t catch up. And as UEFA rules stipulate, the top two countries at the end of the campaign get an extra Champions League spot. All that was needed for England to get the extra place was for one of the Premier League teams in their respective European quarter-finals to win. And Arsenal’s incredible 3-0 victory over Real Madrid ensured at least five top-flight sides will be in UEFA’s elite campaign next year. England was in a very good position, but that win for Arsenal has now confirmed what we all thought would happen, so the race for the top five is going to be heated. There is still a chance that the Premier League could land SEVEN Champions League places next season. The previous rule of a maximum of five teams from any single league qualifying for the top European competition has been scrapped. Any team that wins the Europa League or Champions League but does not finish in the top five will still be granted a place in the Champions League. If Aston Villa, who play Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, win the Champion League but finish outside the top five in the Premier League, then that will give English clubs another spot. Manchester United and Tottenham, who are languishing in the bottom half of the table, can still win the Europa League and that would give the seventh Champions League spot for English teams. English teams left in Europe Champions League Arsenal (3) v Real Madrid (0) Paris Saint-Germain v Aston Villa Europa League Lyon v Man United Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt Europa Conference League Legia Warsaw v Chelsea How does the coefficient table work? UEFA’s coefficient system is based on each country’s overall European performances, so the fact Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Man United reached the knockout rounds was great news for those wanting an extra place. A win is worth two points, a draw is one, and you get zero for a loss. Penalty shootouts are not considered, meaning if it goes all the way, each team gets a point. The points are then added together and divided by the number of clubs competing in Europe that season. You don’t get extra points for winning in the Champions League, so Villa beating Bayern Munich was worth the same amount of points as Chelsea’s home win over Gent. Due to the likes of Villa doing well in Europe, England will get a fifth Champions League spotGetty However, there is a bonus system in place, which makes Champions League progress more valuable. Each team that competes in the Champions League gets a minimum of six bonus points. By comparison, only the top Europa League team gets six, while there is a maximum of 18 up for grabs for the Champions League teams. Then, as the knockout rounds progress, there are more bonus points available. Under the new system, it is even possible for there to be seven teams in the Champions League from one country. This would be if a team fails to finish in their country’s Champions League spots but win the UCL or Europa League. The race for the Champions League spots is very tight That is extremely unlikely, but it could happen with Villa struggling to finish in one of the Champions League spots, while Tottenham and Man United’s chances are all but gone. In terms of the coefficient table, England now can’t be caught by any of the countries outside of the top two. Italy could still finish in the top two and pip Spain, but none of the chasing pack can finish ahead of England.
Five English teams are guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League next season thanks to Arsenal beating Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Gunners hammered the current European Champions 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
England will have an additional Champions League place because they are top of the UEFA coefficient table, and those behind them can’t catch up.
And as UEFA rules stipulate, the top two countries at the end of the campaign get an extra Champions League spot.
All that was needed for England to get the extra place was for one of the Premier League teams in their respective European quarter-finals to win.
And Arsenal’s incredible 3-0 victory over Real Madrid ensured at least five top-flight sides will be in UEFA’s elite campaign next year.
England was in a very good position, but that win for Arsenal has now confirmed what we all thought would happen, so the race for the top five is going to be heated.
There is still a chance that the Premier League could land SEVEN Champions League places next season.
The previous rule of a maximum of five teams from any single league qualifying for the top European competition has been scrapped.
Any team that wins the Europa League or Champions League but does not finish in the top five will still be granted a place in the Champions League.
If Aston Villa, who play Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, win the Champion League but finish outside the top five in the Premier League, then that will give English clubs another spot.
Manchester United and Tottenham, who are languishing in the bottom half of the table, can still win the Europa League and that would give the seventh Champions League spot for English teams.
English teams left in Europe
Champions League
- Arsenal (3) v Real Madrid (0)
- Paris Saint-Germain v Aston Villa
Europa League
- Lyon v Man United
- Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa Conference League
- Legia Warsaw v Chelsea
How does the coefficient table work?
UEFA’s coefficient system is based on each country’s overall European performances, so the fact Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Man United reached the knockout rounds was great news for those wanting an extra place.
A win is worth two points, a draw is one, and you get zero for a loss.
Penalty shootouts are not considered, meaning if it goes all the way, each team gets a point.
The points are then added together and divided by the number of clubs competing in Europe that season.
You don’t get extra points for winning in the Champions League, so Villa beating Bayern Munich was worth the same amount of points as Chelsea’s home win over Gent.
However, there is a bonus system in place, which makes Champions League progress more valuable.
Each team that competes in the Champions League gets a minimum of six bonus points.
By comparison, only the top Europa League team gets six, while there is a maximum of 18 up for grabs for the Champions League teams.
Then, as the knockout rounds progress, there are more bonus points available.
Under the new system, it is even possible for there to be seven teams in the Champions League from one country.
This would be if a team fails to finish in their country’s Champions League spots but win the UCL or Europa League.
That is extremely unlikely, but it could happen with Villa struggling to finish in one of the Champions League spots, while Tottenham and Man United’s chances are all but gone.
In terms of the coefficient table, England now can’t be caught by any of the countries outside of the top two.
Italy could still finish in the top two and pip Spain, but none of the chasing pack can finish ahead of England.
