Premier League quartet deliver boost in race for extra Champions League place
The Premier League now has a far better chance of securing a FIFTH Champions League spot thanks to Liverpool, Brighton, Aston Villa, West Ham.
There are set to be four additional spots in Europe's premier competition next season as it expands from 32 to 36 teams. Two leagues will receive an additional spot, while the other places are reserved for the two best teams in UEFA's coefficient rankings who failed to qualify via the conventional route.
UEFA - the governing body for all European football - will award a spot to the two leagues whose clubs perform in their current competitions this season: the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Performance is ranked on coefficient points, which are worked out for each league by adding all of the team's respective points together and dividing them by the amount of teams a particular confederation has in Europe.
UEFA award two points for a win in each competition, while a draw is worth a further one. Meanwhile, group winners also receive more points in their respective competition.
Thursday's results in the Europa League and the Europa Conference League have done the Premier League massive favours. Liverpool had already qualified for the next stage of the former as group winners ahead of their trip to Brussels to face Union Saint-Gilloise.
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That led Jurgen Klopp to name a much-changed side, with the Reds falling to a 2-1 defeat. While the loss will not see them earn any more coefficient points, their position as group winners has not changed - guaranteeing them four further bonus points.
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The Premier League has two further sides in the Europa League - both of which have earned more points by sealing top spot in their groups. After their Europa Conference League success, West Ham topped Group A in the Europa League with a 2-0 success against German side Freiburg.
Goals from Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez secured the Hammers victory and also guaranteed them top spot. That sees them add two points for the win and four points for winning their group to their coefficient total.
Elsewhere, Brighton have also enjoyed a brilliant first season in Europe. Brazilian forward Joao Pedro scored the all-important goal to see off French side Marseille at the AMEX Stadium. That win gives them a further two points, while they earn a further four having also finished as group winners.
While Aston Villa could not round-off their group campaign with a victory - Unai Emery's men were held to a 1-1 draw by Zrinjski Mostar - it was still enough to guarantee top spot in Group E ahead of Legia Warsaw. Group winners in the Europa Conference League do not earn as many points but they still get an additional two bonus points which will increase the Premier League's coefficient even further.
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