Chelsea in Conference League: How Manchester United’s FA Cup Win Impacted European Spots

Chelsea in Conference League: How Manchester United’s FA Cup Win Impacted European Spots

Martin Moses
updated at May 25, 2024 at 6:13 PM
In this article:
Chelsea logo
Chelsea
England
61
UEFA Europa League logo
UEFA Europa League
Europe
UEFA Europa Conference League logo
UEFA ECL
Europe
UEFA Champions League logo
UEFA UCL
Europe
Manchester United logo
Manchester United
England
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  • Manchester United ended their season on a high note by winning the FA Cup
  • Erik ten Hag's side beat cross-city rivals Manchester City in the final on May 25
  • The result has now confirmed which European competition Chelsea will play

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Manchester United registered their best result in recent seasons as they defied the odds to beat Manchester City and win the FA Cup on May 25.

First-half goals from teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo sealed a second trophy for Erik ten Hag in England in as many seasons.

Erik ten Hag, Lisandro Martinez, FA Cup, Chelsea, Europa League, Conference League
Erik ten Hag celebrates with Lisandro Martinez after Manchester United won the FA Cup on May 25. Photo by Marc Atkins.
Source: Getty Images

The Red Devils were hardly given any chance to provide any sort of resistance against Pep Guardiola's side, who made history last weekend by becoming the first English side to win four successive Premier League titles.

Jeremy Doku pulled back one late in the game but it wasn't enough for the Sky Blue side to complete a double for the second season running.

The result had significant ramifications on who will be playing in Europe next season. By winning the FA Cup, United have qualified for the UEFA Europa League despite finishing eighth in the league.

They join Tottenham Hotspur as the league's representatives in the competition next season. Ange Postecoglou's side finished fifth.

Chelsea, who finished sixth, now drop to the UEFA Confernece League while Newcastle miss out on Europe entirely.

Confirmed European spots

With that FA Cup result, here is the full list of England's representatives in Europe next season;

Champions League

Manchester City

Arsenal

Liverpool

Aston Villa

Europa League

Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United

Conference League

Chelsea

Chelsea's path in Conference League

The Blues, who are currently without a head coach, will begin their Conference League path from the play-off stages in August. The first leg is slated for August 22, with the return leg coming in a week later before the group-stage draw is conducted.

They could become the first side in history to win all the European competitions after previous successes in the Champions League (2012 and 2021) and Europa League ( 2013 and 2019).

How Italy can have six teams in Champions League

Sports Brief has also reported on how Italy could have nine teams in Europe next season.

Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final to open up the possibility for more teams from the Serie A.

As it stands, five teams will qualify for the Champions League but AS Roma, who are in sixth, could join them as well.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)