Borussia Dortmund’s victory over PSG means England can no longer hope to snag an additional berth in the restructured competition.
Tottenham have suffered a major setback in their pursuit of Champions League participation next season, with formal confirmation that the Premier League would not obtain a fifth berth in the expanded competition.
Borussia Dortmund‘s stunning win over Paris Saint-Germain in the home first leg of their semi-final tie on Wednesday night secured a coveted additional spot in Europe’s best club competition for next season for Germany’s Bundesliga.
If they do not win the Champions League for the first time since 1997, Dortmund appears to be the primary beneficiaries of that extra spot, as they currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga table with only three matches remaining in 2023/24, five points behind RB Leipzig in third after last weekend’s heavy 4-1 loss and 12 points ahead of sixth-place Eintracht Frankfurt.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will know for certain that they must finish in the top four to return to European football’s highest table next season.
Back-to-back defeats for Newcastle and bitter rivals Arsenal has seen fifth-place Spurs fall seven points behind Aston Villa in a two-horse battle for fourth, but Ange Postecoglou‘s side still has two games in hand on their opponents, the first of which is against Chelsea on Thursday night at Stamford Bridge.
Topping the coefficient rankings, Italy had already secured an extra Champions League spot for next season after Uefa controversially changed the system and increased the number of teams competing from 32 to 36.
Roma is presently sixth in Serie A, four points behind Bologna and two ahead of Atalanta, who face Marseille in the Europa League quarter-finals. The champions of that competition advance directly to the Champions League.
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