The final day of the Premier League season delivered twists and turns and now the qualification places for next season’s European competitions has been confirmed.
Premier League winners Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United had already sealed their places in next season’s Champions League, with Aston Villa’s victory in the Europa League final on Wednesday securing their qualification too.
Unai Emery’s side then defeated City on Pep Guardiola’s send-off match at the Etihad to finish fourth ahead of Liverpool, who themselves waved farewell to club legends Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson but were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford.
Those results had huge implications for one club: with sixth-placed Bournemouth qualifying for the Europa League after the door to the Champions League was closed off to them. They will be joined in the Europa League by Sunderland, with Brighton going into the Conference League.
And there could be one more English team in next season’s European competitions to come: if Crystal Palace beat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on Wednesday, they will qualify for the league phase of the Europa League.
Champions League
Qualified: Arsenal (1st), Manchester City (2nd), Manchester United (3rd), Aston Villa (4th and Europa League winners), Liverpool (5th)
For six teams to qualify for the Champions League, Aston Villa had to win the Europa League AND finish fifth. Unai Emery’s team did the first part of that by beating Freiburg, but ensured they finished fourth by beating Manchester City. Ollie Watkins’ double spoiled Pep Guardiola’s send-off at the Etihad.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had to settle for fifth after finishing their season with a 1-1 draw against Brentford at Anfield.
Europa League
Qualified: Bournemouth (6th), Sunderland (7th)
Two remarkable stories here: Bournemouth qualify for European football for the first time in their history, while Sunderland, promoted last season, return to Europe for the first time in 53 years.
Bournemouth sold up to £200m of first-team stars last summer, then lost Antoine Semenyo in January. But Andoni Iraola has managed a sensational job at the Cherries, who have been unbeaten in the Premier League since early January. Remarkably, he is now set to leave the club, so Bournemouth will be looking for a new manager for their European campaign.
And how about Sunderland? Down in League One as recently as 2021-22, the Black Cats finish a remarkable seventh in their first season back in the Premier League under Regis Le Bris. Starting the day in 10th, Sunderland jumped three places with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, knocking the Blues out of the race for Europe in the process. Not since 1973-74 have Sunderland competed in Europe, where they entered the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Conference League
Qualified: Brighton (8th)
The Seagulls could have qualified for the Europa League with a win over Manchester United but record-breaking Bruno Fernandes inspired the visitors to a final-day win on the south coast. But Brighton will get a second taste of European football, having reached the last-16 of the Europa League in 2023-24. As Crystal Palace have proved this season, Brighton may start next season’s Conference League as the favourites to go all the way.
Brentford finished with the same record as Brighton (W 14, D 11, L 13) but they missed out on goal difference (+6 to +3); a winner at Anfield would have moved the Bees above Sunderland. Chelsea’s defeat at Sunderland means Xabi Alonso will have no European football to contend with next season in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge. And, as outlined above, if Crystal Palace beat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on Wednesday, they will qualify for the league phase of the Europa League as well.
