The first domestic trophy of the English football season was handed out at the weekend, with Newcastle United finally ending their decades-long dry spell by seeing off Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
As well as kick-starting one of the best parties the city has seen in generations, the victory also means that Newcastle will be playing European football again next season.
Victory in the Carabao Cup brings with it a spot in the playoffs round of the Europa Conference League, but with the Magpies still battling it out for a top-four finish, Eddie Howe and company will be hoping to upgrade this European invitation by the end of the season.
How 11 Premier League teams could play in Europe next seson
With Liverpool sitting 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table and the bottom three seemingly cut off at the bottom of the pile, the race for Europe is likely to be the most entertaining aspect of the current campaign – and fans could be treated to a remarkable situation that could even see a bottom-half finisher qualify for Europe.
It will, however, take a unique set of circumstances and is a massive longshot – but the Premier League have explained how it could work.
Usually, the Premier League’s top four qualify for the Champions League, with the fifth and sixth-placed finishers earning a place in the Europa League, with seventh-place good enough for a spot in the Europa Conference League.
But ever since UEFA introduced their coefficient rankings, there is an opportunity for the fifth-placed Premier League side to qualify for the Champions League. England currently top these club coefficient rankings, and with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea all still in Europe, this extra Champions League spot appears likely.
And here’s where it gets complicated. For this 11-team permutation to work, Newcastle would need to finish fifth and claim this extra Champions League spot, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City ahead of them.
If Brighton finish sixth, they would get a Europa League spot and this scenario would then need Bournemouth to finish seventh and secure a Europa League place by winning the FA Cup.
The next domino to fall would be an eighth-placed Chelsea finish, but also for the Blues to win the Conference League and therefore qualify for the Europa League.
Then, Aston Villa must finish ninth, but qualify for the Champions League by winning that competition this season. The next set of events that would need to happen would be for Manchester United or Tottenham to finish 10th, but qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
If this mammoth set of events were to happen, the Conference League place that Newcastle have just earned for winning the Carabao Cup would go to the 11th-placed Premier League finisher, as the top ten would all have qualified for Europe but the various routes listed above.
Simple, hey? Now excuse us as we go and lie down, as these permutations have left our brains feeling about as battered as the average Newcastle United supporter’s cranium will be feeling this morning.
