It was a wonderful final day as Liverpool beat Middlesbrough to seal their place in the Champions League for next season. It was a fairly easy game as the boys beat Boro 3-0, thanks to goals from Wijnaldum, Coutinho, and Lallana.
It was a must-win game, as Arsenal were right behind us in the table. But that pressure did not seem to affect the performance of the Reds as Klopp’s men cruised to a win. On the other hand, it was never a safe option expecting Everton to do the job for us so maybe, the boys decided to do it themselves?
All in all, the Champions League spot is sealed and provided if Liverpool win the qualifying round, a place in the group stages of the competition would be assured too. However, the trick lies in which team the Reds would face in the Champions League qualifying round.
Possibilities are that Sporting Lisbon or CSKA Moscow could be one of the opponents for the two-legged qualifying fixture. Here’s a list of teams who are seeded in the qualifying stages of the competition (Sky sports).
PLAY- OFF ROUND
Champions League playoff seeded clubs: Sevilla, Napoli or Roma, Dynamo Kiev*, Ajax**, Liverpool
Unseeded clubs (five from 10): Sporting Lisbon, Viktoria Plzen*, CSKA Moscow*, Club Brugge*, Steaua Bucharest*, Young Boys*, Hoffenheim, Nice*, Istanbul Basaksehir or Besiktas*, runners-up in Greece*
* Start in third qualifying round
** Ajax will go straight into the group stages if they win the Europa League.
Liverpool would need a huge stroke of luck if they are to avoid some of the Europe’s big-hitters in the group stages of Champions League as there is a heavy chance of the Reds getting drawn against the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Liverpool’s UEFA co-efficient ranking has left the door open to a potentially daunting group stage draw after it was confirmed that the Reds will be in the third pot of seeds for next season’s competition. This means that current European champions Real Madrid, as well as Italian giants Juventus and German big-hitters Bayern Munich, are possible opponents for Liverpool.
Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund will be seeded in Pot 2, thus opening the prospect of Liverpool facing a daunting draw, as we prepare to return to the competition that we’ve won five times in our illustrious history.
Manchester United will be in the second pot of seeds if they qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League in next Wednesday’s final against Ajax. Meanwhile, Tottenham will join Liverpool among the third seeds. They are liable to get a tricky draw as well.
Here is the scenario for all teams that have qualified for next season’s Champions League, with a host of teams to join this list over the coming months.
Seeded: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot 2: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla*, Man City, FC Porto, Manchester United (if they win the Europa League)
Pot 3: Napoli*, Tottenham, FC Basel, Dynamo Kiev*, Ajax*, Olympiakos*, Anderlecht, Liverpool*
Pot 4: Remaining clubs
* Start in qualifying rounds
