Premier League to have six teams in Champions League as Spurs and Man Utd win

The Premier League will have two additional Champions League places compared to normal next season after wins for Manchester United and Tottenham on Thursday night

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao later this month and in doing so have earned the Premier League another spot in the Champions League. The pair each navigated their way through semi-finals and will now meet on May 21.

It is an opportunity for salvation for Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou, with both teams still able to finish as low as 17th in the Premier League after disastrous domestic campaigns. Winning the Europa League offers Champions League qualification, with either United or Spurs now to take that route into the competition.

Both sides protected first-leg leads as Spurs claimed a 2-0 win over Bodo/Glimt in Norway to secure a 5-1 aggregate success. United meanwhile laboured before securing a 4-1 win in the final 20 minutes to prevail 7-1 on aggregate.

The final will be just the sixth time a major European final has been contested by two English teams and it has a prized possession on the line. Something not lost on Ruben Amorim.

“I’m just worried about the next game, trying to not get any injuries for the final,” said the United boss. “If we don’t win the final, it means nothing for us.

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“We have to have a full squad [against Tottenham ], stay in the game and have a bit of luck and we have to be clinical.

“It’s quite similar for me and Ange [Postecoglou]. It is a tough moment [for us both] and one of us is going to win. It’s going to be a big final and we will try to win.”

The Premier League was already in the rare position of having five teams able to qualify for Europe’s top competition next season. Liverpool have secured their place, with Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa all battling for the remaining spots.

Traditionally, the top four teams have earned a place in the Champions League. But, thanks to the performances of Premier League clubs in UEFA’s competitions this season, the division is guaranteed a top-two spot in UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings.

Placing there secures a “European Performance Spot” for the league, and as a result an additional qualifying place for the competition.

The Premier League has previously earned five spots in 2017/18. That occasion saw Manchester United qualify despite finishing outside of the top four.

Their Europa League win earned them a place alongside Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs in the competition. All five clubs reached the knockout stage which made England the first ever nation to have five teams in the competition’s last 16..

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