Liverpool have learned the majority of the opponents they could face in the Champions League next season
It may have taken a lot longer than anyone would have expected or wanted. But Liverpool finally ensured a third successive season in the Champions League over the weekend.
The 1-1 draw at home to Brentford meant that, no matter what Bournemouth would have done at Nottingham Forest, the Reds had secured fifth place and the final qualification berth.
England, which usually has four Champions League qualification places, was permitted an extra team due to the Premier League’s excellent record in Europe this season with Spain the other country to gain such a privilege.
It would have been six had Europa League winners Aston Villa ultimately been the team to finish in fifth, a situation they avoided regardless of Liverpool’s result by beating double cup winners Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
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City, Manchester neighbours United and champions Arsenal are the other English teams to have qualified for the Champions League.
The Reds were beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 last season and were eliminated by the same opponents in the quarter-final stage this time around.
A total of 36 teams will make up the initial league stage. Each will play eight games against different opposition, with four at home and four away.
Clubs from the same country cannot face each other, with the draw for the fixtures split into teams playing two opponents from each of the four pots, which are determined by UEFA coefficient – the record of each club in European competition over the last five years.
Seven of the 36 clubs will emerge from the qualifying rounds, which take place in July and August. The remaining 29, though, have already been determined and are in the draw, which will take place on Thursday, August 27.
Liverpool are ranked the fourth best team in Europe using the UEFA coefficient, and are one of nine teams in Pot 1 alongside English rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, Spanish trio Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, German side Bayern Munich, holders Paris Saint-Germain and Serie A champions Inter Milan.
So, who else has qualified?
The teams in Pot 2 have also been confirmed. They consist of the remaining Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund of Germany, Italian side Roma, Portuguese duo Sporting Lisbon and Porto, Belgium’s Club Brugge, Real Betis of Spain and Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven.
The remainder are split between Pot 3 and 4 along with the seven teams that qualify through the play-off round. Napoli and first-time qualifiers Como are in from Italy, Lille and Lens from France, Feyenoord from Holland, RB Leipzig and Stuttgart from Germany, Villarreal from Spain, Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine, Galatasaray from Turkey and Slavia Prague from Czechia.
Of their fellow direct qualifiers Liverpool have previously failed to play Aston Villa, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sporting Lisbon, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Feyenoord, Como and Lens in European competition, meaning there is a good chance the Reds will break new ground next season.
Three of the eight teams they faced in the league stage last year – Eintracht Frankfurt, Qarabag and Marseille – failed to qualify this time around.
The final of next season’s Champions League will take place on June 5 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, the venue of Liverpool’s sixth and most recent European Cup triumph in 2019.
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