Chelsea’s victory over Spurs adds fresh intrigue to Europa League and Europa Conference League qualification races
Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday has added more intrigue to the race for Europa League and Europa Conference League places.
Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos gave the Blues a two-goal cushion before Richarlison scored a consolation goal for Spurs.
Sixth-placed Bournemouth clinched one of the Europa League spots following their 1-1 draw against Manchester City.
Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Sunderland and Chelsea will compete for the remaining qualification spot for the competition.
The Seagulls are one point clear of Chelsea, but must beat Manchester United to seal Europa League qualification.
A draw could be enough to clinch the Europa Conference League spot, while they could miss out on European qualification completely if they lose.
Chelsea would have guaranteed their Europa League berth if they had beaten Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
The Blues now need to win at Sunderland and hope Brighton drop points. They could miss out on Europe altogether without a victory.
Brentford are level on points with Chelsea. They must triumph at Liverpool, while hoping that Chelsea and Brighton fail to win to secure a Europa League spot.
They would qualify for the Europa Conference League if only Chelsea fail to secure a victory.
Brentford and Brighton have to lose for Sunderland to qualify for the Europa League, while a Brentford defeat would leave the Europa Conference League as their only option.
Newcastle United and Everton are also mathematically in the race for the Europa Conference League, but they face a difficult task due to their inferior goal difference.
