The Premier League season has come to a close, and the drama of the final day has left many teams waiting with bated breath to see which European competition they’ll be participating in next season. For Chelsea, a sixth-place finish usually guarantees a spot in the Europa League, but not this time. The Blues will have to wait until the FA Cup final to find out whether they’ll be playing in the Europa League or the Conference League.
The Premier League season has come to a close, and the drama of the final day has left many teams waiting with bated breath to see which European competition they’ll be participating in next season.
The winners of the FA Cup automatically claim a spot in the following campaign’s Europa League. Manchester United, who will contest the showpiece event at Wembley Stadium against local rivals Manchester City, finished outside the top seven, failing to qualify for European football through the league. However, if they manage to overcome Pep Guardiola’s title winners, the Red Devils would claim the second Europa League qualification spot alongside Tottenham Hotspur, who finished fifth. Such a result would see Chelsea stripped of their Europa League spot and dumped into the Conference League, where they would take the place of seventh-ranked Newcastle United who would go without any continental action in 2024/25.
The Europa League is one of the most prestigious competitions in European football.
Manchester City ended up claiming the Premier League title ahead of Arsenal on the final day of the season, with Liverpool falling out of contention around a month or so before the climax. They all qualified for the Champions League alongside Aston Villa, who enjoyed a remarkable campaign under Unai Emery and ended up pipping Tottenham to a top-four place. Spurs are definitely in next season’s Europa League after coming fifth, while Chelsea and Newcastle still need to await the result of the FA Cup final to discover which competition they will play in or - in the latter’s case - if they will travel around the continent at all.
The Champions League is the pinnacle of European club football.
As I reflect on the season that’s been, I’m reminded of the importance of European competition in the Premier League. It’s what drives teams to push themselves to the limit, to strive for greatness, and to make sacrifices in pursuit of glory. For Chelsea, the wait will be agonizing, but for now, they can take pride in a season that saw them secure European football of some sort.
Chelsea FC will have to wait until the FA Cup final to find out which European competition they’ll be participating in next season.
