Man United with 54 points and four games left will miss out on UCL action next season because they can no longer leapfrog Villa in 4th with 67 points
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga have clinched five slots each in next season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL).
This was confirmed on Wednesday night after Borussia Dortmund defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
The result affirmed Germany’s second place in UEFA’s coefficient table for this season.
Prior to this, the Italian league had sealed the first spot last month.
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By this development, Italy and Germany can no longer be overtaken by the final remaining contenders, England and France.
This means Premier League team, Man United who are currently 6th with 54 points and have 4 games to play will miss out on Champions League action next season, as they can no longer overtake Villa in 4th with 67 points.
However, Spurs in 5th with 60 points must now leapfrog Villa to stand a chance of playing in the elite European competition with 5 games to play.
Earlier in the season, UEFA announced that two European leagues will be rewarded with an extra place in UCL through the European Performance Spots.
Therefore, the two leagues with the best average performance across the three European competitions each season will have an extra slot, which comes as part of the revamp to expand the Champions League to a 36-team competition.