La Liga joins Premier League in sealing extra UCL spot for next season
La Liga joined the Premier League in securing an additional place in next season's Champions League.
The European Performance Spot (EPS) was introduced by UEFA last year prior to the Champions League adopting a revamped 36-team format. Two leagues get rewarded with one extra place each.
England's top flight sealed one of those bonus berths by virtue of Arsenal's first-leg win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals earlier this month.
Spain's top tier followed suit Thursday.
Athletic Bilbao's victory over Rangers in the Europa League quarterfinals, combined with Lazio's surprising elimination at the hands of Bodo/Glimt, means Serie A, the only other remaining contender, can no longer overtake La Liga in the coefficient table that determines who gets the extra Champions League places.
Coefficient table
| Rank | League | Points | Teams Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Premier League ✅ | 26.821 | 4/7 |
| 2. | La Liga ✅ | 23.250 | 3/7 |
| 3. | Serie A | 21.187 | 2/8 |
| 4. | Bundesliga | 18.421 | 0/8 |
| 5. | Ligue 1 | 16.857 | 1/7 |
(Courtesy: Dale Johnson, ESPN)
The teams that finish fifth in the Premier League and La Liga this season - currently Manchester City and Villarreal, respectively - will participate in the Champions League next year, joining the top four finishers in each league.
Last season, Italy and Germany earned the EPS places, with Bologna and Borussia Dortmund the big beneficiaries after finishing fifth.
In England this season, the race for a top-five spot looks set to go down to the final weeks, with a handful of clubs on the outside still harboring hopes of qualifying for Europe's top club competition.
Premier League table
| Club | Played | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Liverpool | 32 | +43 | 76 |
| 2. Arsenal | 32 | +30 | 63 |
| 3. Newcastle | 32 | +21 | 59 |
| 4. Nottingham Forest | 32 | +13 | 57 |
| 5. Man City | 32 | +20 | 55 |
| - | - | - | - |
| 6. Chelsea | 32 | +17 | 54 |
| 7. Aston Villa | 32 | +3 | 54 |
| 8. Bournemouth | 32 | +12 | 48 |
| 9. Fulham | 32 | +4 | 48 |
| 10. Brighton | 32 | +2 | 48 |
The Premier League could send six teams to next season's Champions League if one of Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League. Both are in the semifinals of that competition, and on opposite sides of the bracket. With Chelsea favorites to capture the Conference League title, it's possible for the Premier League to have 10 sides in Europe next season.
The situation in La Liga is less murky.
The top four - Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Bilbao - are comfortably out in front, so it appears to be a straight scrap between Villarreal and Real Betis for fifth. The Yellow Submarine currently sit three points up and have a game in hand on the Seville-based side.