The state of play in Europe battle

The Reds’ 1-0 win in west London moved us 10 points clear of the sixth-placed Blues with five games remaining.

Of course, it’s already been confirmed that the Premier League has earned a fifth UEFA Champions League spot for next season, owing to a strong performance from English clubs across European competitions.

The valuable three points earned at Stamford Bridge left the Premier League table looking like this on Saturday night…

TABLE AS IT STANDS

3rd: United - 33 games played, 58 points
4th: Aston Villa - 32 games played, 55 points
5th: Liverpool - 32 games played, 52 points
6th: Chelsea - 33 games played, 48 points
7th: Brentford - 33 games played, 48 points
8th: Bournemouth - 33 games played, 48 points
9th: Brighton - 33 games played, 47 points
10th: Everton - 32 games played, 47 points

Arsenal are guaranteed a top-five finish, with Manchester City close to joining them. That leaves three more places in Europe’s premier competition in 2026/27 up for grabs.

Fourth-placed Aston Villa now have a seven-point cushion over Chelsea and face Sunderland at Villa Park on Sunday.

Liverpool hold the final qualification place and could move seven points clear of the Blues themselves with a victory in the Merseyside derby against an Everton side who are just one point behind Chelsea.

The Reds face Brentford on 27 April and Liverpool on 3 May in our next two games. If Everton and Sunderland drop points on Sunday, victory in both of those matches at Old Trafford would be enough to clinch a UEFA Champions League qualification spot - which could be sealed sooner if results involving the sides directly below us work in our favour.

There are still some seismic matches to come in the race, however, with Chelsea still having to travel to Anfield to face Liverpool, who also need to visit Aston Villa. The Villans also have an away match at title-chasing Manchester City on the final day of the campaign.

Here are the fixtures that each of our European-chasing rivals have still to play…

ASTON VILLA: Sunderland H, Fulham A, Tottenham H, Burnley A, Liverpool H, Manchester City A

LIVERPOOL: Everton A, Crystal Palace H, United A, Chelsea H, Aston Villa A, Brentford H

CHELSEA: Brighton A, Nottingham Forest H, Liverpool A, Tottenham H, Sunderland A
BRENTFORD: United A, West Ham H, Manchester City A, Crystal Palace H, Liverpool A
BOURNEMOUTH: Leeds H, Crystal Palace H, Fulham A, Manchester City H, Nottingham Forest A
BRIGHTON: Chelsea H, Newcastle A, Wolves H, Leeds A, United H 

EVERTON: Liverpool H, West Ham A, Man City H, Crystal Palace A, Sunderland H, Tottenham A
SUNDERLAND: Aston Villa A, Nottingham Forest H, Wolves A, United H, Everton A, Chelsea H