Borussia Dortmund’s win at home to Paris Saint-Germain has confirmed that the Bundesliga, not the Premier League, will get an extra spot in next season’s Champions League.
England’s slim hopes of overhauling Germany in the Uefa coefficient rankings have been extinguished and the Bundesliga’s top five finishers are guaranteed to play in the Champions League. Only the top four clubs in the Premier League will participate.
Dortmund are certain of a slot along with Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Stuttgart and Leipzig. If Dortmund finish fifth and win the Champions League, the team who finish sixth – currently Eintracht Frankfurt – would also qualify.
“We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way,” the Dortmund’s coach, Edin Terzic, said. “But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution.”
In the Premier League, fourth-placed Aston Villa are seven points ahead of their closest challengers, Tottenham, who have two games in hand. The first of those comes at Chelsea on Thursday night.
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Uefa made two extra Champions League spots available for next season’s new-look 36-team tournament and Italy had already secured one. Those places have been determined by clubs’ performances in all three European competitions this season.