With Tottenham's 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City, the suspense of this season's Premier League title has almost disappeared. At the same time, there is also the suspense of the Premier League's Champions League seat. With no points in this round, it is impossible for Tottenham to overtake Aston Villa. Therefore, the four teams that will appear in the Champions League next season are Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa.
In fact, when the suspense of the championship has been revealed, the major leagues are fighting for Champions League seats, which is more interesting. Not all leagues, like the Bundesliga, have already identified five Champions League teams so long in advance, and in extreme cases, the possibility of six teams being selected is not ruled out. And Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga, there is still a little suspense, but it is very small.
Of course, we can't just focus on the big five leagues, after all, the Champions League is open to all of Europe, and many second-tier leagues also have some places. Speaking of which, there is not a single detail to mention. Although next season's Champions League restructuring and expansion, on the surface, the probability of major giants missing the Champions League is lower, but at present, next season's Champions League has one of the biggest regrets - since the new century, the non-five major league teams with the best European results have been confirmed to be absent.
Since the restructuring of the Champions League, it has become more and more difficult for teams in the non-top five leagues to get involved. Therefore, it is basically impossible to have a scene like Celtic, Bucharest Star, and Ajax winning the championship in the past. However, since the beginning of the new century, there has been only one team in the non-top five leagues that has won the Champions League.
That team is, of course, Porto, the Portuguese Super League.
However, don't just focus on the Champions League title that Jose Mourinho brought them, today we are talking about European results. In fact, Porto have won the Europa League twice for more than two decades. One Champions League champion, two Europa League titles, such a result, even if placed in the five major leagues, is enough to kill most giants in seconds.
What's more, Porto have been the flagship team of the Portuguese Super League in the Champions League in recent seasons, competing for several seasons in a row and reaching the quarter-finals. Such a team really shouldn't lose its qualification when the Champions League is expanded again.
But it's true. Although the Champions League has expanded, there are fewer places in the Portuguese Super League. In previous seasons, the top two in the Portuguese Super League were directly qualified, and the third place played in the qualifying round. And this season, the first place is directly qualified, the second place plays the qualifying round, and the third place can only go to the Europa League qualifying round. Unfortunately, there is still the last round of the Portuguese Super League, and Porto has been left behind by a full 10 points in second place, and it is impossible to qualify for the Champions League. Moreover, they will have to watch out for fourth-placed Braga, who only have a one-point lead.
In other words, Porto will not be able to play in the Champions League next season, there is a high probability of playing in the Europa League, and there is a certain possibility of playing in the Europa League.
Now thinking about Porto's European journey for more than 20 years, it is really embarrassing. In Serie A, while the Bundesliga can still get one more place because of European points, the Portuguese Super League has been demoted. And the biggest victim is Porto. In fact, Porto is really a team that many giants in the Champions League do not want to touch, taking this season as an example, they caused a lot of trouble for Arsenal in the quarter-finals, and in the end Arsenal only passed with a penalty shootout. Let's put it this way, Porto's Champions League experience, Champions League heritage, is definitely much better than Atalanta, RB Leipzig, and Brest.
The biggest beneficiary of the so-called Champions League expansion is still the five major leagues. However, I personally think that instead of letting the five major leagues get one or two more places, it is better to take care of the Portuguese Super League and the giants of the Eredivisie. In fact, in the eyes of many people, Ligue 1 is not as good as the Portuguese Super League. Since the beginning of the new century, the only non-top five league team that has won the Champions League will be absent from the Champions League next season, and it is in the context of the expansion of the Champions League; We don't know what to say except regret.