Manchester City need just one more victory to finally hoist the agonizingly eluded Champions League trophy.
The recent Premier League champions, who are vying for the incredible treble, will be lopsided favorites to defeat Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul in June.
And supporters of other English clubs have asked one very straightforward question in light of the possibility of the Mancunians winning in Turkey: Will fifth place in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League the following season?
With one of Newcastle, Manchester United, or Liverpool likely to miss out on a spot in the top four, here is everything you need to know.
If Manchester City win the Champions League, will fifth place automatically qualify?
If Manchester City win the competition this year, the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League will not be eligible to play in the Champions League the following year.
As Premier League champions, Pep Guardiola’s team have already earned a spot in the Champions League for next season.
City will qualify for the next season’s competition as the defending champions, though, if they do manage to win the trophy in Istanbul.
However, the team finishing fifth in the Premier League would not receive their qualifying spot, which was secured based on their league position.
The winner of the highest-ranked national league in the UEFA coefficient who does not already hold an automatic group stage qualifying spot would instead receive City’s league qualification.
Currently, the Ukrainian league champions would automatically qualify for the Champions League without going through the qualification process.
Instead, the team finishing in fifth place overall will automatically qualify for the Europa League group stages.
Five teams from the same nation may participate in the Champions League during the same season according to UEFA regulations.
Only if an English club had won the Champions League or Europa League this season but failed to place in the top four in the Premier League could this have occurred for the upcoming season.
In Another News,
Fans question “what does Mo Salah need to do” after award omission
Mohamed Salah is expected to score 20 or more Premier League goals for the third consecutive season, but he was not included on the season’s final shortlist.
Due to the team’s inconsistent play and precipitous decline from last season’s high points, Liverpool have not had a season where individual players’ names will be remembered.
Salah is no exception, but despite the fact that many believe this season hasn’t been his best, he continues to score an impressive number of goals.
30 strikes and 14 assists across all competitions, or 19 goals and 10 assists in the league, are consistent with the Egyptian’s high output in previous seasons.
Salah was passed over as a candidate for the Premier League Player of the Season award because he claimed that this has been a bad season.
The shortlist included Kieran Trippier, Marcus Rashford, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Martin Odegaard, and Kevin De Bruyne.
Fans were quick to point out that despite having ‘best seasons’ according to many, Saka (13 goals, 11 assists) and Rashford (16 goals, 5 assists) both failed to contribute to more goals than Salah.
Although there is a clear front-runner for the award this year, it is always intriguing to see who is and is not nominated.
Salah, like his teammates, has experienced a tumultuous campaign. Despite the fact that his extraordinarily high standards make this campaign seem exceptional, there is a compelling case for including Salah’s name at the very least on the shortlist.
Perception is everything, but given how Liverpool supporters perceive Salah, this will only fuel his fire.
