Rangers offered a warm greeting into the Champions League.
Rangers have been handed a welcomed Champions League qualifying boost
Philippe Clement’s team has been officially confirmed as the top seed in both the third qualifying round and, should they get that far, the play-off round.
After Atalanta, the winners of the Europa League, finished in the top four of Serie A today, that comes.
next their convincing 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin on Wednesday night, the Bergamo team had already secured their place in the new Champions League phase for the next season.
However, as a result of their achievement and their now-confirmed top-four domestic finish, Rangers will receive a qualifying seed among Italy’s five teams that will compete in the continental championship the following season.
Benfica, who will automatically advance to the league phase, will also miss UCL qualifying due to Atalanta’s outcome.
In light of all of this, Rangers should have an easier time joining Celtic in the appropriate league. Lille isn’t a possible opponent anymore, for instance, because of their new position as the third qualifying round’s seed.
Currently, the teams that are not seeded for that round are Fenerbache, FC Twente, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Dynamo Kviv.
The ripple effect of Atalanta’s successful end of the season will please Rangers’ executives, but Hearts’ will not.
Even with the guarantee of at least Europa Conference League phase football, things still appear nice for Steven Naismith and company.
The fact that Atalanta defeated Torino today, however, eliminated their chance of receiving a bye into the Europa League, meaning they will in fact need to participate in the play-off qualifying for that league.
Last week, Celtic won their third consecutive Scottish championship, guaranteeing them a position in the Champions League the following year.