The tight European Cup race in the Premier League has produced surprising winners. This is bad news for Xabi Alonso.
In the wealthy Premier League, Chelsea FC still stands out. The London club’s squad is considered to be as valuable as that of champions FC Arsenal and runners-up Manchester City. But Chelsea were far away from the championship race last season and after the last matchday it is clear: Chelsea FC will miss qualification for a European competition.
The two-time Champions League winner lost his last league game 1:2 (0:1) at AFC Sunderland on Sunday. After the goals conceded by Trai Hume (25′) and Malo Gusto (50′, own goal), Cole Palmer’s follow-up goal (56′) was not enough. The yellow-red card for Wesley Fofana (62nd) meant that Chelsea had to chase after the deficit when they were outnumbered – in vain.
Disappointed Chelsea FC professionals after the defeat in Sunderland
Historically bad place for Chelsea
A draw would have been enough for eighth place and therefore at least for the Conference League. A win would have meant seventh place and thus qualification for the Europa League. As it was, it finished in tenth place; in the past 30 years the club has only been worse once.
Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen’s mastermind, may have been particularly annoyed. The Spaniard will take over as coach in London for the new season and will then involuntarily spend more time on the training pitch and less time on the plane.
Sunderland: Europe instead of third league
So while Chelsea wrote a sad chapter in the club’s successful history, Sunderland celebrated a fairytale one. Four years ago the AFC was still playing in the third division, and last summer the hard-earned promotion followed. Fourth place in the second division was enough for the promotion playoffs, in the final of which a goal in injury time brought victory for Sunderland.
Led by captain Granit Xhaka, who came from Leverkusen in the summer, Sunderland played a surprisingly strong season and crowned it with a deserved win against Chelsea. This made it possible to jump to seventh place, which meant that the promoted team qualified for the Europa League. Sunderland last appeared in the European Cup 53 years ago.
Bournemouth and Brighton are also there internationally
AFC Bournemouth (1-1 at Nottingham Forest) will also represent England in the Europa League next season. In the Conference League, the English participant is Brighton & Hove Albion, the team coached by Fabian Hürzeler – despite a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United.
They are surprising names, especially considering that they have left wealthier clubs with even more expensive squads behind them. In addition to Chelsea, Newcastle United (12th place) and Tottenham Hotspur (17th place) are particularly worth mentioning – Spurs only avoided relegation on the last matchday.
Liverpool made it to the Champions League with a bang
The Premier League has five starting places for the Champions League next season. Liverpool FC secured one of them on the last matchday, albeit not very brilliantly. The “Reds” played 1-1 against Brentford FC in Mohamed Salah’s last appearance and defended fifth place.
After Arsenal and Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa had already qualified for the premier class.
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