Arsenal rocked the Champions League on Tuesday night after thumping Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Pep Guardiola and Man City might have watched on in awe.
Declan Rice scored twice against Real Madrid as he starred in Arsenal’s memorable 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
It comes several weeks after Real Madrid knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League over two legs, with Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick in the second leg sealing a 6-3 aggregate win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Pep Guardiola and his stricken Man City side are now playing for an FA Cup with a semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest booked in for late April. That and a 4th place finish in the Premier League to ensure they’re playing Champions League football next season.
Man City are set to oversee a huge summer of change ahead of the 2025/26 season. Hugo Viana is arriving as director of football and having Champions League football would help him and Pep attract the top players they need to get back to their best.
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Top five Premier League clubs qualify for Champions League after Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid
In what is a huge blessing in disguise for Man City and Pep, Arsenal’s win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night has triggered a change in how many Premier League clubs qualify for the Champions League, with the top five teams in the 2024/25 Premier League season now set to qualify for the Champions League in 2025/26.
Pre the Premier League: “Thanks to the performances of Premier League clubs in all of UEFA’s competitions this season, England is now guaranteed a top-two spot in UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings, which earns a “European Performance Spot” (EPS). This means that as well as the top four-placed teams in the Premier League, the club finishing fifth in 2024/25 will also go straight into the Champions League next season.”
Pep’s former assistant coach Mikel Arteta then has gifted Man City a huge boost in their quest for Champions League football next season. Though right now Man City sit in 6th place of the Premier League table and Newcastle United are the team in 5th.
Man City’s remaining fixtures compared to Newcastle United’s
It’s Man City and Newcastle United who look like the two teams gunning for that final Champions League spot right now, so expect Pep to keep a close eye on how Eddie Howe’s team fare in the final weeks of the campaign.
Man City return to Premier League action against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon whilst Newcastle United host Man United on the Sunday, and also boast a game in had over City.
| Newcastle United remaining PL games | Man City remaining PL games |
| Man United (H) | Crystal Palace (H) |
| Crystal Palace (H) | Everton (A) |
| Aston Villa (A) | Aston Villa (A) |
| Ipswich Town (H) | Wolves (H) |
| Brighton (A) | Southampton (A) |
| Chelsea (H) | Bournemouth (H) |
| Arsenal (A) | Fulham (A) |
| Everton (H) |
That game in hand could make all the difference for Man City and Newcastle United. All Man City can do is win all their games and if they do that, they might finish as high as 3rd depending on how 4th place Chelsea and 3rd place Nottingham Forest fare.
