The Premier League has cost itself a spot in next season's Champions League.

The 2025-2026 Premier League season ended with a thrilling conclusion on the last round on May 24. Yet the outcomes on the pitch meant that the top English league will have just five teams, rather than six, competing in the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League.

Before round 38, English football faced a rare possibility of securing up to six spots in Europe's most prestigious competition. Four teams had already secured their places at that point: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa, by maintaining their positions among the top group.

According to the usual rules, the top four in the Premier League earn Champions League berths. However, this season, English football received an additional slot from UEFA due to the outstanding performance of its clubs in European competitions, placing it alongside La Liga as the two leading leagues in the UEFA coefficient rankings. This ensured that the Premier League would have five guaranteed representatives in next season's Champions League.

The door for a sixth slot truly opened when Aston Villa won the Europa League, thereby securing a Champions League spot. If Unai Emery's side finished the season in fifth place, the additional berth would be passed down to the sixth-placed team. That would have made the race among the chasing pack more thrilling than ever.

For that scenario to happen, Aston Villa needed to lose to Manchester City, while Liverpool had to defeat Brentford to climb to fourth place. The two teams most eagerly awaiting this were AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, as one of them could seize the opportunity to secure a historic sixth spot for English football in the Champions League.

But on the pitch, events took a different turn. At the Etihad, Aston Villa showed great composure to come from behind and beat Manchester City 2-1. Meanwhile, at Anfield, Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford. Those results allowed Villa and Liverpool to retain fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the final standings.

For Bournemouth, regret was perhaps the strongest emotion. They did their part by drawing with Nottingham Forest, but still could not create a turning point. Meanwhile, Brighton also failed to capitalize, suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Manchester United. Thus, the Premier League will have five representatives in the 2026-2027 Champions League, instead of the six-team scenario that fans had anticipated until the final matchday.