Permutations in Europe: What's still at stake in final week of season?

There's still plenty to play for throughout Europe as we head into the final matches of the season across the top leagues. Here are the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided.

Note: This story will be updated until the end of the season.

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EPL | LA LIGA | SERIE A | BUNDESLIGA | LIGUE 1 | GOLDEN SHOE

Premier League 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Final day of season: May 25

Title winners

What once promised to be a thrilling battle between Liverpool and Arsenal ultimately turned into a procession. Arne Slot's team clinched a record-equaling 20th title in the English top flight with four matches to spare, sealing the deal with a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool, who also hoisted the trophy in 2020, are the only club other than Manchester City to win the Premier League since 2018.

The Reds' triumph has been powered in large part by the brilliance of Mohamed Salah, who's authoring one of the greatest individual seasons in English football history. Sitting on 46 goal involvements, he's one shy of tying the all-time Premier League record for a single season, and he's two assists away from equalling the mark for most ever in a campaign (20). Salah has two matches left to claim those records.

European qualification

Through its strong performances in European competition this season, the Premier League earned an extra Champions League spot for the 2025-26 campaign. The top five finishers will compete in the competition next year.

Arsenal sealed their spot by beating Newcastle in their penultimate game of the season. Three spots remain up for grabs in an incredibly tight race.

The Premier League's first tiebreaker, if necessary, is goal difference.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will meet in the Europa League final on May 21, meaning an English club is guaranteed to win that tournament. As such, the Premier League will have six teams in next season's Champions League, and nine total in European competition:

• Champions League: League positions one to five, Man United or Tottenham
• Europa League: Sixth place, FA Cup winners
• Conference League: Carabao Cup winners

Crystal Palace upset Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final on Saturday, winning a first major trophy in club history and earning a Europa League berth in the process.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have already won the Carabao Cup and are guaranteed of at least a Conference League spot. If they qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via their league position, then the Conference League berth will be granted to the highest Premier League finisher that isn't qualified for another European competition.

It's possible for England to have 10 total teams in European competition next season. For that to happen, Chelsea must win the Conference League - they're in the final against Real Betis on May 28 - and finish the Premier League season outside the European places.

Relegation and promotion

Southampton set an unwanted record for the earliest relegation in Premier League history, officially being consigned to the Championship with seven games to spare. The Saints, at least, avoided setting a record for the lowest points total in a Premier League season, eclipsing the 11 points that Derby County collected in 2007-08.

Leicester City and Ipswich Town will join them in the second tier, marking the second consecutive season that the Premier League's three promoted clubs were relegated directly back down to the Championship.

Championship winners Leeds United and runners-up Burnley were promoted from the second tier after becoming the seventh and eighth second-division sides to finish with 100 points or more.

Sheffield United smashed Bristol City in the Championship playoff semifinals. A day later, the Stadium of Light erupted when Sunderland's Dan Ballard sunk Coventry City with a header in the last second of extra time. The Blades and the Black Cats will meet in the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium on May 24 to decide who gets the last Premier League berth.

La Liga 🇪🇸

Final day of season: May 25

Title winners

Barcelona captured their 28th Spanish league title with a 2-0 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol, sealing a domestic treble in the process. Hansi Flick's team closed in on the league crown with a wild 4-3 Clasico victory over Real Madrid, and finished the job against another bitter rival, with Lamine Yamal scoring a stunning goal in the title-clinching victory. Barcelona, who narrowly missed out on reaching the Champions League final this season, will end the year as La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup champions.

European qualification

Spain has joined the Premier League by earning an additional Champions League berth for next season, beating out Serie A in the battle for the last available extra spot. Those five berths have now all been confirmed, with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Villarreal joining champions Barcelona in the elite competition in 2025-26.

Spain's top flight will send at least eight total teams to Europe next season:

• Champions League: League positions one to five
• Europa League: Sixth place, seventh place
• Conference League: Eighth place

With Barcelona beating Real Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling Copa del Rey final, the Europa League place that is typically reserved for the Spanish Cup winners will transfer down to whoever finishes seventh in the table, thus giving the eighth-placed finisher Spain's Conference League berth.

Relegation and promotion

Real Valladolid and Las Palmas have officially been relegated despite their best efforts to avoid the drop. After a tight race with a handful of teams involved for much of the year, it comes down to Leganes and Espanyol going into the final day of the season.

Spain's second division is similar to the English Championship - the top two finishers jump directly to the top tier, while teams finishing third through sixth enter a promotion playoff. Levante and Elche are sitting in the top two spots, but several other clubs are hot on their tails.

Serie A 🇮🇹

Final day of season: May 25

Title race

Italy has delivered arguably the most enthralling title race on the continent this year, and it's reaching a crescendo. While Simone Inzaghi's Inter Milan fell into a slump at the worst possible time, losing ground to Napoli after a brutal week that also saw their treble hopes get dashed, Napoli then slipped up themselves, leaving the gap at just one point.

The penultimate day of the season saw both title hopefuls draw, as Inter conceded a 90th-minute penalty in a 2-2 stalemate with Lazio, and Napoli had to settle for a goalless draw at Parma after a stoppage-time penalty was awarded but then taken away by VAR. Never dull, Italy.

Antonio Conte's men control their own destiny going into the final day of the season. Napoli will clinch their second Scudetto in three seasons if they beat Cagliari at home in their finale. Inter, who have one eye on their upcoming Champions League final clash against PSG, close out the season at Como, needing a win and some help.

If Napoli and Inter finish tied on points, they'll play a one-game winner-take-all finale for the title. The side with the better goal difference (Inter) would host the match. The only time a Scudetto playoff has been required in Serie A was 1964, when Bologna beat Inter to claim the last of their seven titles.

European qualification

Atalanta qualified for the Champions League earlier this month, leaving only the fourth and final qualification place up for grabs. Juventus, Roma, and Lazio are all still in contention with one match to play.

Juventus travel to Venezia, Roma play away against Torino, and Lazio host Lecce next Sunday to close out the campaign.

Bologna beat Milan to win the Coppa Italia and qualify for the Europa League in the process, so Serie A's European allotment will break down as follows:

• Champions League: League positions one to four
• Europa League: Fifth place, Coppa Italia winners
• Conference League: Sixth place

Relegation and promotion

Monza were the first team to go down in Serie A this season, but the relegation dogfight isn't over, with five teams still battling to avoid the drop. A playoff will be used if two teams finish tied for 18th place.

Former Serie A mainstays Sassuolo and Pisa are the teams going up after securing the top two automatic promotion berths in the Serie B table. Coached by former Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi, Pisa will play in the top flight for the first time in 34 years.

Spezia, Cremonese, Juve Stabia, and Catanzaro are the four teams remaining in the playoffs for the last promotion place.

Bundesliga 🇩🇪

Season complete

Title winners

Bayern Munich reclaimed their crown from Bayer Leverkusen, and now have 34 Bundesliga championships in their history. No other German club has even hit double figures.

Harry Kane's league-leading 26 goals helped return Bayern to the summit and deliver the first major trophy of his career. Kane arrived in Munich in 2023 and seemed cursed as Leverkusen came out of nowhere to end Bayern's run of 11 consecutive titles last season. He's cursed no more.

European qualification

Despite missing out on the title, Leverkusen joined Bayern in securing Champions League football for next season. They were joined by Eintracht Frankfurt, who stayed in contention during the second half of the campaign despite losing Egyptian star Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in the winter transfer window. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, claimed 22 of a possible 24 points in their final eight matches to surge into fourth, completing their Champions League rescue mission with a win on the final day of the season.

Freiburg, fourth going into the final day, will have to settle for the Europa League after losing and ending up in fifth, while Mainz took home sixth place and will head to the Conference League.

Third-tier club Arminia Bielefeld have made a Cinderella run to the German Cup final, upsetting Leverkusen along the way. Bielefeld could become the first third-tier team to ever win the German Cup, and that would also give them a stunning Europa League berth. They'll play Stuttgart for the DFB-Pokal crown, so the Bundesliga's European places won't need to be transferred down the table based on the outcome of the cup final on May 24.

Relegation and promotion

The 18-team Bundesliga uses a distinctive system to determine their final relegation and promotion places. The bottom two teams are automatically sent down to Bundesliga 2, while the top pair from the second division replaces them. Then it gets interesting. The outfit that finishes 16th in the Bundesliga enters a two-legged playoff against the third-placed squad from Bundesliga 2. The winner gets next season's spot in the top division.

In Germany, this unique method is known simply as the "Relegation."

Bochum and Holstein Kiel were officially relegated on the penultimate day of the season, and Heidenheim were confirmed as the Bundesliga's playoff representative by finishing 16th.

Fallen giants Hamburg will return to the Bundesliga next season after a seven-year absence from the top flight. FC Koln leapfrogged Hamburg on the final day to be promoted as Bundesliga 2 champions. Elversberg, who finished third, will take on Heidenheim in the playoff.

Ligue 1 🇫🇷

Season complete

Title winners

Paris Saint-Germain conquered French football for the 11th time in 13 seasons, but their bid for the first undefeated campaign in Ligue 1 history collapsed in their fourth-to-last match.

The main stars of PSG's latest romp to the Ligue 1 title include top scorer Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, while in-form teenager Desire Doue delivered the goal that rubber-stamped first place.

Les Parisiens are closing in on more silverware in the Champions League and Coupe de France. They'll face Inter in the continental showpiece on May 31, a week after the Coupe de France final against Reims.

European qualification

Unlike the other top European divisions, Ligue 1 only gets three automatic Champions League berths. Marseille and Monaco sealed their automatic spots with wins in the penultimate round, leaving four teams in contention to finish fourth heading into the final day of the season.

Nice won that race, beating Brest 6-0 to ensure they finished fourth ahead of Lille thanks to their superior goal difference. Lille will head to the Europa League, while Lyon finished sixth, which yields a Conference League spot.

Treble-chasing PSG will be heavy favorites to win the Coupe de France when they play Reims in the final May 24. If PSG do indeed beat Reims, the Europa League berth reserved for the cup winners will transfer down to the sixth-placed finisher (Lyon), and the Conference League spot would then pass down to Strasbourg, who ended the season in seventh.

Relegation and promotion

Ligue 1's relegation system is similar to that of the Bundesliga. The bottom two teams tumble to the second tier, while the 16th-place finisher gets a chance at salvation in a playoff against a team from Ligue 2.

Montpellier, after a 16-year stint in Ligue 1, were the first team officially relegated. Saint-Etienne, 10-time French champions, joined them on the final day of the season.

Le Havre looked destined for the playoff, but secured safety in stunning fashion, scoring a 99th-minute penalty to beat Strasbourg 3-2 and jump up to 15th in the table with one of the very last kicks of the season. That saw Reims tumble to 16th, meaning there's a chance the club could both win the Coupe de France and get relegated in the same year.

In Ligue 2, Lorient clinched their promotion back to the top tier.

Paris FC, suddenly one of the richest clubs in France after a recent high-profile ownership change, completed their rise to Ligue 1, sealing promotion with five games left in the season. Their promotion should make things interesting in the French capital next season with Paris FC going up against Ligue 1 champions and neighbors Paris Saint-Germain. It'll be the first season since 1989-90 that features two Paris clubs competing in France's top flight.

Metz will play Reims in the two-legged promotion/relegation playoff.

European Golden Shoe 🏅

The European Golden Shoe is awarded to the highest scorer across the top tiers of Europe's various domestic leagues. Harry Kane took home the award in 2023-24 after racking up 36 Bundesliga tallies.

Only goals in league matches are considered, and a coefficient points system is used to weigh the strength of different leagues. The top five leagues based on UEFA's rankings have a coefficient factor of two, while the leagues ranked sixth to 22nd by the governing body have a factor of 1.5. That's why Sporting CP hitman Viktor Gyokeres has such a slender lead despite scoring 10 more goals than his nearest challenger so far this season.

If players are tied on points, the one who accumulated those points in fewer minutes on the field is ranked higher.