La Liga claim extra Champions League spot after dramatic penalty miss

On Thursday, it was confirmed that Spain have secured an extra Champions League for the second season in a row, meaning that five La Liga clubs will be present in the 2026-27 league phase.

Generally, it has been a difficult season in European competition for La Liga clubs. Real Madrid and Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, and although Atletico Madrid reached the last four before being knocked out by Arsenal earlier this week, Villarreal and Athletic Club failed to make it out of the league phase.

In the Europa League, Real Betis and Celta Vigo were taken down by Braga and Freiburg respectively in the quarter-finals, and taking all of these cases into account, it meant that Spain’s position in the top 2 of the European coefficient was hanging by a thread, with Germany closing in.

However, the performances of Rayo Vallecano in the UEFA Conference League have saved Spain from missing out on an extra Champions League spot. Inigo Perez’s side have been excellent in the competition, and on Thursday, they booked their place in the final with a 1-0 victory over Strasbourg (2-0 on aggregate), and the fact they won both legs have proven to be absolutely crucial.

Rayo added an extra 0.250 to Spain’s coefficient with victory in France, which came about after Julio Enciso saw a stoppage time penalty saved by Augusto Batalla to stop the score going to 1-1. As per Diario AS, this miss ensured that La Liga will receive the extra Champions League place, as despite having Freiburg in the Europa League final, Germany are too far back from 2nd place.

Who are the candidates to finish 5th in La Liga?

As thing stand with four matches to go, Real Betis are firm favourites to finish in the final Champions League place. Manuel Pellegrini’s side are six points clear of Celta Vigo, while there is also a slim chance for the likes of Getafe, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad to sneak into 5th place.

Two victories and a draw will be enough for Los Verdiblancos to seal a place in next season’s Champions League, but if they were to slip up, Celta and co will be breathing down their necks.

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