Why England are guaranteed fifth Champions League spot

The Premier League is officially rewarded with five teams in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League after Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal encounter.

The extra slot was secured based on the performance by clubs across the three European competitions.

England are now guaranteed a top-two spot in UEFA’s association club coefficient rankings, which earns a “European Performance Spot” (EPS).

This means that any team that finishes fifth in the Premier League at the end of the current campaign automatically qualifies for Champions League football next season.

The format was introduced in last season as part of a revamp to expand the Champions League to a 36-team competition.

The extra place was all but confirmed by a series of poor results for Italian clubs in the knockout playoff round and the round of 16, giving English clubs a “free ride” in the process.

The Premier League only needed a win and two draws from the remaining fixtures, and that was sealed on Tuesday night by Arsenal in an epic 3-0 win against Madrid at home.

Declan Rice’s brace and Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Real Madrid secured an extra spot for England in the Champions League (Image credit: Getty Images).

Chelsea (53 points) sit fourth with Newcastle United (53) in fifth (and the Magpies have a crucial game in hand.) But a host of clubs are battling for the top five, including Manchester City (52), Aston Villa (51), Fulham (48) and Brighton & Hove Albion (47).

Winners of the Champions League and UEFA Europa League get automatic placement in next season’s elite competition, potentially taking the number to seven.

Meaning, the top five teams in the league, plus the Champions League winners and the Europa League winners if they finish outside the top five.

How do countries earn extra spot?

The extra spot is calculated by UEFA’s coefficient ranking, based on how clubs perform in all three UEFA-organised competitions (Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League).

Every win for a club in any of UEFA’s club competitions earns each league two points, a draw earns one point – with no point for a defeat.

Bonus points are awarded according to where each club finishes in their European league table. These are pegged according to the competition.

Clubs who finish top of the table in the Champions League get 12 bonus points, while finishing top of the Europa League gets you six, and the top team in the Conference League gets four.

On top of that, additional bonus points are awarded for reaching each round from the last 16 onwards. These are also weighted according to the competition.

The points earned by clubs from the same domestic league are totalled and then divided by the number of clubs in the league that participate in European competitions.