The battle for a Champions League place between Tottenham and Aston Villa has turned into a beautiful soap opera thanks to the fierce competition in the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City, win or lose, directly determines whether they have a chance to get a Champions League ticket. That's why this game has so much to offer, and it's not just about whether City can win the title. In the end, Manchester City won the most crucial three points on the road to the championship, and there is a high probability that it will achieve four consecutive championships; And Aston Villa also entered the Champions League again after many years.
In fact, the process of Tottenham and Villa competing for a Champions League place is so tragic that it feels more or less Versailles. After all, there are 4 places in the Premier League and it has lasted for so many years. What about the minor leagues? A little better, only one or two seats, a little worse, as if it has nothing to do with the Champions League, look up, the Europa League and even the Europa Conference League are the sky above their heads. In fact, many second-tier league teams, in terms of heritage and strength, are definitely no worse than those teams in the five major leagues hovering on the Champions League qualification line, or even stronger. But the five major leagues are the first group in European football, and they are not only the top in overall strength, but also have resources in all aspects, which are incomparable to other leagues.
Next season's Champions League will be expanded, although the expansion is not large, but from the previous 32 teams to 36 teams, an increase of 4 places. However, now that the number of places has increased, theoretically speaking, this increase can be felt more or less in the major European leagues, right? But in fact, some leagues have indeed benefited, such as Serie A and Bundesliga, due to the high European points, so there is actually an extra place; And what about some leagues? Instead, he was demoted.
One of the biggest ironies of next season's Champions League is to let a team that has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League two consecutive seasons play in the Champions League qualifying round.
Of course, given the quality of the team, the qualifiers should not stop them, so there is a high probability that they will appear in the Champions League next season. However, it really doesn't feel fair to let such a team start from the qualifying round and let the teams in Serie A, the Bundesliga that are in fourth and fifth place directly qualify.
Don't sell off, this team is Benfica.
Obviously, today's topic is not aimed at Benfica, but at the Portuguese Super League. After all, Benfica only finished second in the Portuguese Super League this season, and since their results do not meet the criteria for direct qualification to the Champions League, they can only consider themselves unlucky. But the problem is that in previous seasons, the Portuguese Super League still had two places directly through to the Champions League, that is, the top two; This season, however, they were relegated to only one direct spot, the league champions, Sporting de Portugal. While it is true that the Portuguese Premier League teams have not performed well in European competition this season, what about the previous seasons? The reason why Benfica seems so wronged is because they have reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in the past two seasons.
In the 21-22 season, Benfica defeated Barcelona 3-0 in the group stage and eventually lost to Liverpool in the quarterfinals. In the 22-23 season, Benfica won the first place in the group stage ahead of Grand Paris, and at that time Grand Paris still had Messi and Neymar; In the end, Benfica lost to Inter in the quarterfinals. Noticed? The teams that eliminated Benfica in both seasons reached the final and finished as runners-up. In other words, if you want to eliminate Benfica in the Champions League, you have to be at least the final level.
It is true that Benfica is not as good as the top giants of the five major leagues, such as Bayern, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, etc., but if you want to say that Benfica is not even as good as the fourth team in the five major leagues that are stuck in the line to enter the Champions League, I am not convinced. What more could you ask for by selling leading goalscorers Nunez and Sergio Ramos in a row and still being active in the Champions League?
Let's put it this way, it is Benfica who are more qualified for the Champions League than RB Leipzig, Girona, Stuttgart, Brest, Lille, Aston Villa, Atalanta and Bologna. The authority of the Portuguese Super League is already low enough, is it not even worthy of an additional direct quota? If you only look at the direct places, there are 5 in Serie A, 5 in the Bundesliga, 4 in the Premier League, 4 in La Liga and 3 in Ligue 1 this season. In the Portuguese Super League, there is only 1. Not even as good as the Eredivisie. The gap is too big, right?
To be honest, first of all, I hope Benfica will be in the Champions League next season, which is not a big problem; Secondly, I hope that Benfica's results can be as good as possible, not as good as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern, at least, much better than Bologna, Girona, Brest.
The next step in irony is to slap your face.