- Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle All Secure UCL Qualification as Aston Villa Narrowly Miss Out
Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest all needed to win their games today to seal UCL qualification or stand a chance. However, Villa and Forest could not make it. The Villans qualified only for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest secured a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The final day of the 2024/25 season served up drama and controversy, and also rewarded some teams for their resilience this season despite flaws. Here is how it all went down:
Manchester City v Fulham
Manchester City needed to win away at Craven Cottage to secure their place in the UEFA Champions League next season, and they did just that with the help of a truly special goal from İlkay Gündoğan.
The German scored City’s first goal with an overhead kick to make things easier for Pep Guardiola’s side. Fulham created some trouble, but Manchester City played better on the day. Gündoğan later won a penalty, which Erling Haaland converted for Manchester City’s second goal to all but seal the win and UCL qualification.
Manchester United v Aston Villa
Manchester United had nothing to play for going into this game, and Villa were favourites. However, Emiliano Martínez made a foolish decision to tackle Rasmus Højlund outside the box, and the referee sent him off in what could be his last game for Aston Villa.
That red card gave United an advantage, and they took it with both hands. However, before Manchester United scored their first goal of the day, the referee controversially ruled out a Villa goal.
The Villans then conceded two goals and missed out on UCL football by just one point.
Newcastle v Everton
The Magpies almost let it slip at the last moment. Newcastle needed Manchester United to beat 10-man Aston Villa at Old Trafford to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Alcaraz scored for Everton at St James’ Park to hand Everton all 3 points, but the Geordies still qualified thanks to Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
Nottingham Forest v Chelsea
Chelsea needed a win to confirm their return to the Champions League after two seasons out, and they got it.
Levi Colwill scored to help Chelsea beat fellow top-five hopefuls Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground and secure a place in Pot 1 for next season’s UEFA Champions League group phase.
The final five are now decided: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle qualify via the Premier League table for next season’s Champions League. They will be joined, of course, by the winners of the 2025 Europa League—Tottenham Hotspur.
