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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-ho = Will Korean football fans be able to see Son Heung-min (Tottenham) play an active role in the next season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) stage?
The English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) 2022-2023 season is coming to an end, and the outline of the clubs that will be competing in the European club competition (UCL, Europa League and European Conference League) next season is slowly being revealed.
The top 1 to 4 teams in the EPL go straight to the UCL final, the 5th placed teams and the FA Cup winners get the Europa League, and the League Cup winners get the right to participate in the European Conference League.
In the EPL, which was played until round 31, Arsenal (74 points) and Manchester City (70 points) finished 1st and 2nd, Manchester United (59 points) 3rd, and Newcastle (56 points). ) and Tottenham (53 points) are in 4th and 5th respectively.
Among them, the team that has stood out recently is the ‘traditional powerhouse’ Man Utd.
On the 17th (Korean time), Manchester United won 2-0 against 18th-ranked Nottingham Forest which was held at The City Ground in Nottingham, England, beating Anthony the smash hit with one goal and one assist in the 2022-203 EPL round. 31 Expedition .
With this, Man United, who won 3 consecutive wins, dropped Newcastle, who lost in the 31st round, to 4th place and one step up to 3rd place.
With Arsenal and Man City securing two UCL tickets for next season, Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham are now involved in a fierce ‘points war’ over the remaining two tickets.
Tottenham is the team most envious of Manchester United’s transfer.
Tottenham was running in 3rd place at the start of the season, but from the 14th round it was difficult to take advantage of the uptrend, going back and forth between 4th and 5th.
Tottenham, who lost 0-1 in round 26 against Wolverhampton last month, retained 4th place with 2 wins and 2 draws, but dropped to 5th after losing 2-3 in round 31 against midweight Bournemouth down. 16.
Newcastle (4th) → Manchester United (3rd) → Liverpool (8th) → Crystal Palace (12th) → Aston Villa (6th) → Brentford (9th) → Leeds (16th) 8 games remaining. take turns facing each other
This was not an easy match as the opponents in 5 out of 8 matches were in the ‘Top 10’.
In particular, the matches against Newcastle on the 23rd and against Manchester United on the 28th are the decisive stages in the possibility of staying in the EP ‘Top 4’ this season.
Tottenham’s weakness is that they have played one game more than Newcastle and Manchester United.
For this reason, Tottenham must secure as many points as possible in the remaining eight matches to secure a UCL ticket for next season.
In the current situation, Man Utd has various ‘games of development’ to advance to European club competition next season.
By winning the Carabao Cup (League Cup) this season, they earned the right to participate in the Europa Conference League.
If United finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, there will be some changes to the distribution of European tickets.
If Manchester United finishes 1st to 4th, the Europa League ticket goes to 5th and the FA Cup winner as before, and the 6th placed team advances to the European Conference League.
In particular, Manchester United advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and quarter-finals of the Europa League this season. Depending on whether or not both competitions win or not, there may be some changes in ticket distribution for European club competitions.
But whether it’s Manchester United, Newcastle or Tottenham, securing a UCL ticket in 3rd or 4th place is the best goal, and winning an EPL return is over the line.
Son Heung-min, who scored his 100th personal goal on the EPL stage, scored an additional goal in the remaining 8 matches to score double figures for 7 consecutive seasons, raising expectations from domestic fans to take Tottenham to the UCL final. twice in a row. season.
