May 2 – Italy and Germany have won the race to gain five slots each in next season’s Champions League as England and France miss out.
The allocation of extra places in the Champions League was confirmed on Wednesday night after Borussia Dortmund defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. Serie A had already sealed the first extra spot for Italy last month.
The two leagues have been rewarded with an extra place based on performance in Europe this season, all part of the revamp to expand the competition to 36 teams next season.
UEFA’s coefficient rankings are based on the results of all European clubs across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Even if Aston Villa were to win both legs of their Europa Conference League semi-final with Olympiakos and go on to lift the trophy, England cannot catch up so the Premier League will be left with the usual four slots.
Italy and Germany could even end up with six representatives if Dortmund win the Champions League and finish outside the top four in the Bundesliga, and either Atalanta or Roma win the Europa League. The winners of both tournaments qualify automatically for the following season’s Champions League.
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