Liverpool need to avoid defeat on the final day against Brentford to qualify for next season’s Champions League, but that could still be a good result, provided the defeat is not serious.
Arne Slot is one game away from deciding Champions League football (Image: PETER POWELL/EPA/Shutterstock)
After Tuesday night’s draw with Bournemouth, Liverpool are all but guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League, although they still have a mathematical chance of missing out.
The Cherries are on a 17-game unbeaten run and are in the running for Europe next season, but they drew with Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium. This ensured that Arsenal would be crowned champions, but Bournemouth were as good as saying goodbye to fifth place.
Bournemouth still lead by three points ahead of the final day of the season despite Liverpool’s heavy defeat at Aston Villa on Friday. Andoni Iraola’s side need a win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with Arne Slott’s side losing to Brentford on goal difference by six goals.
That remains unlikely as it would require two overwhelming victories. Liverpool know that failing to qualify for the Champions League would be disastrous, and there will likely be serious talks about Slott’s future.
At this time 12 months ago, the Reds were celebrating Premier League glory. They then spent £450m on new players, but a lack of form, injuries to key players and tactical problems blighted the team throughout the season.
read more: Manchester United join Liverpool and Chelsea in race to sign Jarrod Bowen during West Ham’s £100m fire saleread more: Jamie Carragher slams Liverpool star for response to Mohamed Salah’s comments
Liverpool lost to Brentford in west London earlier this season, but the Reds have never lost to the Bees at Anfield in the Premier League. Slott hinted that Alexander Isak could return for the final game of the season.
The composition of next season’s Premier League Champions League squad will be heavily influenced by Aston Villa’s actions over the next few days. If Unai Emery’s side do not win or finish fifth in the Europa League, then sixth and seventh place in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League, and eighth place will qualify for the Conference League, as usual.
Bournemouth know they will be in Europe next season (Image: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
However, if Aston Villa win Wednesday’s Europa League final and finish fifth in the Premier League, the top six teams will all qualify for the Champions League. Emery’s side will play City on the final day, but if City lose and Liverpool win, the Reds will finish fourth.
If the above scenario were to come true, the 7th place team would qualify for the Europa League and the 8th place team would play in the Conference League.
Whatever happens, Bournemouth know they have landed some sort of European football for the first time in the club’s 127-year history. Midfielder Alex Scott said of the feat: “It’s a big deal, for a club that was playing in League Two. We were on the verge of going bankrupt, but it’s amazing.”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive daily Mirror Football content. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
