CELTIC or Rangers could miss out on the Champions League next season because of Villarreal’s progress in the competition.
Unai Emery’s side knocked Bayern Munich out in the quarter-final on Tuesday and will face Liverpool or Benfica in the next round.
Villarreal progressed to the Champions League final after beating Bayern Munich Credit: AFP
Celtic or Rangers could miss out on the Champions League if Scotland lose their automatic qualification spot Credit: Willie Vass And if they go on to win the Champions League it could have big ramifications for Scotland’s top two clubs.
Currently, winning the SPFL guarantees automatic qualification for the tournament.
And with Celtic boasting a six-point lead at the top of the league it is Ange Postecoglou’s side who will be hoping for Villarreal to get knocked out.
Because if they win the whole thing, Uefa will need to find an extra spot for Villarreal since they are unlikely to qualify via their league position.
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Football free bets – Get £40 bonus when you stake £10 this week with Betfair And due to their low coefficient ranking, Scotland will lose their automatic qualification spot.
Scotland only recently gained the automatic place as a result of strong performances in Europe, particularly from Rangers.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are doing everything they can to bump up the coefficient ranking this year too by reaching the Europa League quarter-final.
Celtic, meanwhile, were knocked out of the Uefa Conference League in the Round of 32 by Bodo/Glimt.
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Aberdeen also exited the same competition at the play-off stage, denting Scotland’s coefficient ranking.
Villarreal, meanwhile, have defied the odds by beating Juventus and Bayern to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
And after also beating Manchester United unexpectedly in the Europa League final last year it would be foolish to write them off.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
