Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United all secured their spots in next season’s Champions League on a frantic final day of the Premier League season.
Chelsea held their nerve with a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, in a tense battle at the City Ground which turned out to be a straight shoot-out for Champions League qualification. Manchester City secured their return amongst Europe’s elite with a 2-0 win over Fulham, while Aston Villa’s 2-0 reverse at Old Trafford gifted Newcastle a spot in the competition despite Eddie Howe’s side losing 1-0 to Everton.
Premier League champions Liverpool, and this year’s Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal will return to the competition next season, with their spots already sealed before the final day of the domestic campaign.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, will also return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, after defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
When do the qualifiers start and what is the process?
By now, we are all well-accustomed to the new Champions League format, featuring the 36-team league phase. But how is this comprised?
Automatic qualification for Europe’s premier club competition makes up 29 of the 36 teams in the league phase, leaving seven spots for those who come through the qualification rounds.
There are four different rounds of two-legged qualification ties, and the stage at which each club enters within these rounds is dictated by the placing of their association club coefficient rankings. For example, Celtic will only have to play in the fourth and final round of the qualifying phase. The dates for each round are as follows:
- First qualifying round: July 8/9 & 15/16
- Second qualifying round: July 22/23 & 29/30
- Third qualifying round: August 5/6 & 12
- Play-offs: August 19/20 & 26/27
When is the league phase draw?
The draw for the 2025-26 league phase takes place on August 28, ahead of the first matchweek which takes place on September 16-18 .
Same as before, teams will be drawn to play eight fixtures — four home, four away — with a top-eight finish the goal for automatic qualification for the round-of-16, and those placed 9-24 then contesting the play-offs for eight knockout spots, with 25-36 eliminated.
The league phase will span from September 16 to January 28.
What are the other key dates for 2025-26?
Here are all the key dates for the 2025-26 Champions League knockout rounds, leading up to the final, held at the 67,215-capacity Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
- Knockout phase play-offs: February 17/18 & 24/25
- Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18
- Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15
- Semi-finals: April 28/29 & May 5/6
- Final: May 30
Will the top five get Champions League next season, too?
The Premier League gaining five Champions League spots contributed to an exciting final day of the domestic season, with five teams all contesting for their place in the competition on Sunday.
Will we see similar drama next season? It remains to be seen. The Champions League spots were made available via a top-five finish due to Premier League clubs’ exceptional performances in Europe this season, with Arsenal reaching the semi-final of the competition, Aston Villa making the final eight, Tottenham and Manchester United reaching the Europa League final, and Chelsea making it to the Conference League final.
This has put England more than 17 points ahead of second-placed Italy in the coefficient race.
Given scores from the previous five seasons are added to make the coefficient total, England have given themselves an advantage in hope of securing five Champions League spots yet again next year.
What about the Europa League?
Villa’s final-day defeat left Unai Emery’s side in sixth, meaning they will play Europa League football next season, a step down from their Champions League participation in the 2024-25 campaign. It will be Villa’s first appearance in the Europa League since 2010-11.
They will be joined by Crystal Palace, who secured automatic qualification for the league phase by claiming their maiden FA Cup trophy, with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the final earlier in May. It will be Palace’s first season in the competition.
And the Conference League?
For much of the Premier League season, Nottingham Forest had their sights set on a Champions League spot. They could have secured it with victory over Chelsea on the final day, but a 1-0 defeat meant they had to settle for seventh place, and a season in the Conference League.
It will be Forest’s first season playing European football since the 1995-96 campaign,
(Top photo of Chelsea’s Levi Colwill celebrating: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
