England’s fifth European seat is up in the air

The hopes of English clubs to obtain 5 places in the competition next season suffered a severe blow after Chelsea’s heavy loss to Saint-Germain, Manchester City to Real Madrid by 3-0, Arsenal narrowly escaping defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round of 16, Tottenham’s 5-2 loss at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and Liverpool’s loss at the hands of Galatasaray by a goal. The fifth seat in the competition to which the Big Four automatically qualify is granted to the local championship in which the largest number of clubs in the three European competitions participate. In the round of 16 in all European competitions, 9 English clubs competed, and England was the top candidate for the seat.