See what Man City’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley will mean for other clubs in race for Europe
Manchester City lifted the FA Cup for an eighth time today after edging past Chelsea 1-0 thanks to Antoine Semenyo’s improvised flick in the 72nd minute at Wembley Stadium.
There was joy for Man City and their manager Pep Guardiola after being the losing finalists in each of the last two seasons.
See: Man City report
The FA Cup winners secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League (UEL), however, as City are already guaranteed a top-two finish in the Premier League, which earns a place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), their place in the UEL for beating Chelsea will now go to another Premier League team.
What happens after Man City won the FA Cup?
After the result of the final, the Premier League is set to have eight qualification places in UEFA competitions through final league table positions.
As Man City won the FA Cup and are assured of finishing in the top two, the UEFA Europa League spot that winning the FA Cup earns will drop down one place.
The top five Premier League clubs are guaranteed a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. It is usually the top four only, but an additional European Performance Spot (EPS) has been earned through Premier League clubs’ performances in UEFA competitions this season.
Therefore the teams finishing in sixth and seventh are set to qualify for the Europa League while the side in eighth would secure the UEFA Conference League (UCoL) place that goes to the EFL Cup winners, which were Man City.
AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion are sixth and seventh respectively, while Brentford are eighth.
Which PL places earn which UEFA competitions
Posn
Competition
Route
1
UCL
PL
2
UCL
PL
3
UCL
PL
4
UCL
PL
5
UCL
EPS
6
UEL
PL
7
UEL
PL
8
UCoL
PL
How Aston Villa could affect the European spots
There may yet be another curve ball in the race for a European finish. Aston Villa face Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday 20 May.
The Villans are fourth but should they finish fifth after winning the Europa League, the team in sixth will qualify for the Champions League.
This is because the extra Champions League entry awarded to the Premier League for English clubs’ results in Europe this season — the European Performance Spot or EPS — will be passed down from fifth place to sixth.
However, if after Man City won the FA Cup, Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, then one Europa League spot would be forfeited.
How Villa winning UEL and finishing fifth could change things
Posn
Competition
Route
1
UCL
PL
2
UCL
PL
3
UCL
PL
4
UCL
PL
5
UCL
UEL winners
6
UCL
EPS
7
UEL
PL
8
UCoL
PL
Should Villa win the Europa League and finish sixth, the Conference League spot would be given up.
