{"id":514346,"date":"2026-04-05T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T14:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/514346\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T14:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T14:30:14","slug":"chelsea-thrown-lifeline-in-the-race-for-champions-league-qualification-thanks-to-uefa-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/514346\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea thrown lifeline in the race for Champions League qualification thanks to UEFA rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea have been thrown a lifeline in the race for qualification to the UEFA Champions League.<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 31: The Champions League trophy displayed injury the Wembley stadium prior to the training of Real Madrid  during the   Press Conference and training Real Madrid at the Wembley Stadium on May 31, 2024 in London United Kingdom (Photo by Damjan Zibert\/Soccrates\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_Press-Conference-and-training-Real-Madrid.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"The Champions League trophy on display\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">The Champions League trophy on display(Image: Soccrates Images, Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Chelsea could still qualify for the UEFA Champions League even if they finish seventh in the Premier League. The <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/chelsea-fc\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Blues<\/a> have fallen behind in the race for a place in Europe&#8217;s top-flight competitions next season, and <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/chelsea-fc\/news\/liam-rosenior-chelsea-strasbourg-exit-33704341\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Liam Rosenior is under pressure to turn things around<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The west Londoners dropped to sixth in the table just before the international break following a humiliating defeat to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. It marked the fourth successive loss across all competitions, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/chelsea-fc\/transfer-news\/enzo-fernandez-chelsea-transfer-update-33712064\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">and the third in the last five Premier League games<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In fact, since the start of February, Chelsea have banked just eight points from a possible 21. Although the Blues are only a point behind Liverpool in fifth, Brentford and Everton have joined the race for qualification to the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They&#8217;re two points behind, piling the pressure on Rosenior&#8217;s side. Fortunately for Chelsea, even if they don&#8217;t finish in the top six, they could still squeeze into Europe&#8217;s top-flight competition next term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! <a aria-label=\"Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook pageLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CFCFootball.London#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If Liverpool win the Champions League this season while also finishing in the top five in the Premier League, their domestic qualification will be passed down to the team in sixth \u2013 so long as England remain in the top two of the <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uefa.com\/nationalassociations\/uefarankings\/country\/?year=2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">UEFA Coefficient Table<\/a> and secure a European Performance Spots (EPS), just as they did last term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If Aston Villa finish sixth in the Premier League and win the Europa League, they, too, will qualify for Europe&#8217;s top-flight competition. As a result, the team in seventh would secure a record-breaking seventh spot in the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>England&#8217;s 2026 World Cup kits<\/p>\n<p>This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/affiliates\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Content Image\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774317731_355_0_Untitled-2jpeg.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Various Prices<\/p>\n<p>England Official Store<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"AffiliateContent_content-buy-btn__xWiVO buy-btn\" aria-label=\"Buy button\" href=\"https:\/\/england-fa-shop.sjv.io\/c\/344386\/852317\/11901?subId1=Regionals-football.london&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.englandstore.com%2Fen%2Fengland-national-team-football-kits-three-lions%2Ft-25619315%2Bd-9072656104%2Bc-340607%2Bz-9-3856279017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">Buy Now on England Official Store<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">England and Nike have launched the new home, away and goalkeeper kits to be worn at this summer&#8217;s FIFA World Cup. You can get free delivery on all orders with the code: ENGFREEDEL<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">There would still be two Europa League spots and a Conference League space up for grabs, dropping to 10th in the table. If Crystal Palace finish in the bottom half of the Premier League and win the latter, that will earn them a place in the former, putting 11 English teams in Europe next season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Last month, Rosenior claimed Chelsea must qualify for Europe&#8217;s top-flight competition. The Blues boss said: &#8220;A successful season for this club has to be to qualify for the Champions League. It has to be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;That\u2019s the level of this club. Where we are, we still have a very, very good chance of achieving that. Also, to win a trophy would be amazing, and it\u2019s something that\u2019s achievable.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Liam Rosenior \" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_GettyImages-2269226973.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Liam Rosenior during Chelsea's win over Port Vale in the FA Cup\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Liam Rosenior during Chelsea&#8217;s win over Port Vale in the FA Cup(Image: Andrew Kearns &#8211; CameraSport)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It\u2019s funny today, it\u2019s the first time we trained with the white balls. That\u2019s normally a sign we\u2019re into that [run-in] period. For me, when those white balls come out, we can\u2019t make those mistakes that we\u2019re making.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Because you\u2019re running out of time and that\u2019s the message myself and my staff have given the players this morning.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Following the win over Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final, Rosenior will now turn his attention to Chelsea&#8217;s clash against Manchester City. The Blues will have a week or so to recharge their batteries before they welcome Pep Guardiola&#8217;s side to Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chelsea have been thrown a lifeline in the race for qualification to the UEFA Champions League. The Champions&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[219,218,107706,101,397,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-514346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-chelsea","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-liam-rosenior","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uefa-champions-league","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}