In the 2022/23 Champions League final, Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, will play Inter Milan, a big team from Serie A, in Istanbul.
City fought back to defend their Premier League title in the last few weeks of the season, when Guardiola’s team passed Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Guardiola’s team is now close to a possible triple after beating rivals United in the FA Cup final a week before playing Inter.
Liverpool fans have a special link to Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, even though their team isn’t playing there. In the year of 2005, Liverpool defeat AC Milan in an amazing comeback in the Champions-League-final, but their Champions League fate for 2023/24 is already set.
If Man City wins, will Liverpool make it to the next round of the Champions League?
The short answer to this question for Liverpool fans is no.
After coming fifth in the Premier League in 2022/23, Klopp’s team didn’t make it into the Champions League. Instead, Newcastle United did.
The winner of the Champions League is promised a spot in the next season’s competition. This is a safety net in case the winner doesn’t qualify through their league, which City has already done by winning the Premier League.
Can a fifth team from the Premier League get into the Champions League?
Fifth place in the Premier League can get you into the Champions League the following year, but only if certain things happen.
In 2005, Liverpool won the FA Cup and finished fifth in the Premier League. Nearby foes Everton won fourth place and a spot in the Champions League.
UEFA let Liverpool enter at the First Qualifying Round to protect their title, while Everton joined at the Third Qualifying Round.
Liverpool moved on to the Round of 16, where they lost to Benfica. Everton, on the other hand, was sent home right away by Villarreal.
According to the rules of the European governing body, if a team wins the Champions League and also qualifies for the competition based on how well it did in its own league, the empty spot goes to a country that doesn’t already have a straight spot in the group stage. In this case, Ukraine gets the spot.
How can five English teams get into the Champions League?
There are only two ways that five English teams could get into the Champions League, but it is possible.
The first is when a team that doesn’t finish in the top four in the league wins the Champions League, like Liverpool did in 2005.
Five English teams could also get into the Champions League if a club outside of the top four wins the Europa League. If you win the Europa League, you automatically get into the group stage of the Champions League the following year.
In 2023/24, though, that won’t be the case for any Premier League teams. Instead, Spain’s La Liga will have five teams.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Real Sociedad have all made sure they will finish in the top four in Spain’s top league this season. However, Sevilla’s win over Roma in the Europa League final has made sure they will also qualify.
