Charles Jackson
We are in the final stretch of the season in Europe’s top football leagues and every league except the Premier League now has champions after Real Madrid secured their 36th La Liga title. Girona did a solid job for Los Blancos to secure their historic passage to the UEFA Champions League on a busy Saturday for developments. In another place, Ipswich Town won promotion back in the Premier League behind champions Leicester City and sealed a return to the top flight for the first time since relegation in 2002. It arrived on the same day as Tom Brady’s Birmingham City dropped down to League One despite beating playoff-bound Norwich City on a thrilling final day.
Serie A and the Bundesliga are awarding extra places in the UEFA Champions League through the coefficient system, while other places in the UCL, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League are still being distributed. Some of the teams occupying the UEL and UECL places are expected to be upgraded to the UCL by the end of this campaign, so with just under a month to go until the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium ends the club’s tenure nationally, we will see who guaranteed what happens in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Champions League
- EPL: Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.
- Turns on: Real Madrid (champion), Girona and Barcelona.
- Series A: Inter (champion) and Milan.
- Bundesliga: Leverkusen (champion), Bayern, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Dortmund (via league and extra coefficient spot).
- League 1: PSG (champion) and Monaco (at least UCL qualifiers).
Firstly, there are already UCL positions to be gained, with Italian champions Inter taking the first of Serie A’s five Champions League places, after an additional one was gained via the UEFA coefficient. Bayer Leverkusen have already been crowned German champions and Xabi Alonso’s men could also triumph in the semi-finals of the Europa League, which will also see Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the UCL. BVB’s semi-final victory over French champions Paris Saint-Germain guaranteed VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig and themselves a place in next year’s Champions League, regardless of what happens next in Paris. Bayern’s opponents Real Madrid were the only Spanish team to book their place in the Champions League before even knowing what this year’s semi-finals and final would look like, but have since secured the La Liga title with four games remaining. Girona’s victory over Barça not only overtook their Catalan rivals, but also secured a historic first European match for Girona in the UCL.
Europa League
- EPL: Aston Villa (at least UEL).
- Turns on: Club Atlético (at least UEL).
- Series A: Juventus (at least UEL).
- League 1: Stade Brestois 29 (at least UEL).
The competition with the most places allocated so far is the Europa League, with the majority of teams currently holding places likely to move up to the Champions League by the end of the season. The EPL currently has two clubs, Liverpool and Aston Villa, while La Liga already has Girona and Athletic Club, who recently won the Copa del Rey. The Catalans have fallen out of contention for the La Liga title, but can still secure a place in the UCL and now have a 13-point lead over Athletic Bilbao, who have already secured the Europa League despite being in the first UEL spot in the table. . In Italy, Milan will certainly have at least a place in the UEL along with Juventus, but both are keen to achieve an upgrade in the UCL, while the Bundesliga currently has VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig, although both could end up – along with Dortmund – entering the Champions League if Germany wins the second additional spot.
Europa Conference League
- Turns on: Atlético de Madrid (at least UECL).
- Series A: Bologna (at least UECL).
- League 1: Lille OSC (at least UECL).
For now, a team from most major leagues is at least guaranteed participation in the Europa Conference League, although current semi-finalists Villa have now upgraded to the Europa League as they battle Tottenham Hotspur for a Champions League place in the Premier League. Bologna are currently in the UECL of Serie A, but their form is such that they could at least be awarded a place in the UEL, if not the UCL, given their pace, whilst Lille are guaranteed a European place, which could yet end up as a place in the Champions League and possibly even with PSG. runner-up.
Demoted
- EPL: Sheffield United.
- Turns on: Almeria.
- Series A: Salernitana.
- Bundesliga: Darmstadt 98.
We now have our first relegations from the European top flight, with Sheffield United, Almeria, Salernitana and Darmstadt dropping to their respective second divisions. While more people will join them in the coming days and weeks, it may take until the final round of games for all of these spots to be confirmed.
Promoted
- EPL: Leicester (automatically as championship winners) and Ipswich (also automatic), while Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich will compete in the playoffs.
- Series A: Parma (automatic), Como, Venezia, Cremonese and Catanzaro (all at least Serie B playoffs).
- Bundesliga: FC St. Pauli (at least promotion playoffs).
- League 1: Auxerre, Saint-Etienne and Angers (at least Ligue 1 promotion playoffs).
Teams from the top five leagues have started to be relegated and Leicester City are now 100% certain of being promoted back to the Premier League as champions, as are Ipswich, who end a 22-year wait to return to the EPL in second place. In Italy, Serie B’s Parma are not yet champions, but no one else in the second division is confirmed to move up yet. Several clubs are certain of at least a place in the playoffs, including Como, Venezia, Cremonese and Catanzaro, as well as Ligue 2’s AJ Auxerre, Saint-Etienne and Angers, so expect more names to join these in the coming days and weeks.
