After thrashing West Ham at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea made sure there was still enough to play for in their last three games of the season. Mauricio Pochettino’s team scored 13 goals and won three straight games at home while maintaining a spotless record, putting them in a strong position to qualify for Europe.

They have since bounced back from Arsenal’s 5-0 hammering with a valiant comeback against Aston Villa in the second half, as well as important derby wins against Tottenham and now West Ham in contrasting situations. It gives Pochettino a chance to close up his first season at the team on a high note.

With their victory on Sunday, the Blues overtook Manchester United and maintained their lead over Newcastle, who came in sixth place after Eddie Howe’s team destroyed Burnley with a strong showing on Saturday. The Magpies have now won four out of the last five games, scoring four goals in three of those contests.

Manchester United travels to Crystal Palace on Monday, when they play, and a point will put them ahead of Chelsea. However, things are tight going into the last two weeks. Erik ten Hag’s team has fallen well short of challenging for the top four after finishing sixth for nearly the whole season. A recent run of only one league victory in six games has given Chelsea and Newcastle the chance to overtake the leaders.

Six weeks ago, teams were preparing for two scenarios, so it was unclear how the European berths would be distributed. The Premier League and Bundesliga and Serie A have been figҺting all season for a second Champions League berth. Teams lower on the standings would have had another chance to earn a trip to Europe as a result of this.

However, that chance has diminished as a result of English teams’ dismal 2024 performance in the knockout stages. The image of what each slot will give a team is now crystal obvious. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Newcastle are left to compete for a single spot, and even then, it might not be enough.

How is Chelsea going to get into the Europa League?

As is usually customary, the top four teams will all play in the Champions League. In contrast to past years, even if an English team had emerged triumphant this season, their winnings would not have been transferred to another team. Still, it would have increased the probability of securing a fifth place and raised the UEFA Coefficient.

With Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, the top three are now assured. Tottenham and Aston Villa are still figҺting for fourth place and a spot.

Now, fifth place will always translate into a Europa League spot. From then on, though, there could still be some movement.

Chelsea’s goal of qualifying for the Europa League may be achieved with a sixth-place finish. But if Manchester United were to place seventh or worse and go on to win the FA Cup, it would imply that sixth place is only necessary to guarantee Conference League play.

Given that they are already in the Champions League, Manchester City will automatically qualify for the Europa League if they win the FA Cup. This suggests that when the teams play in the final at the end of the month, Pep Guardiola’s team may have a far larger fan base.

As long as Chelsea finishes seventh, they will be in the Conference League. because Liverpool qualified for the lowest-tier UEFA club tournament by winning the Carabao Cup. One enters through a play-off.

This indicates that Manchester United can still qualify for Europe even if they finish eighth and one of Chelsea or Newcastle in seventh place doesn’t. Chelsea still has no control over the Europa League, even if its two opponents must face each other in the league the next week.

Even a tie in that match could not be sufficient should Ten Hag win the FA Cup, since it would only give them a sixth-place finish. Though there is still plenty to be gained, it could be too little, too late.