The extra Champions League spot for the 2024/25 season has officially been awarded to Germany’s Bundesliga. Due to upcoming changes in the competition, two additional teams will take part in the tournament. Italy’s Serie A previously locked up one of these spots due to various European successes inside the country. However, the final place was essentially a ping-pong match between the Bundesliga and Premier League.

Nevertheless, Germany finally secured the extra place following Borussia Dortmund‘s 1-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. The two teams are locked in a Champions League semifinal battle, with the return leg set for May 7th. The eventual winner of the tie will then face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid for the trophy.

Extra Champions League spot directly affects Dortmund

Dortmund’s victory not only helped their Champions League chances this season, but they also now have a significant safety net. BVB currently sits fifth in the Bundesliga table, five points behind RB Leipzig. As the top four German clubs typically qualify for the elite European competition, the fifth-placed team this season will join the quartet in the 2024/25 Champions League.

Edin Terzic, Dortmund’s manager, told reporters after the massive win on Wednesday that grabbing a place in next season’s Champions League was a minimum precondition heading into the current campaign.

“We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way,” stated Terzic. “But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution.”

“Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing.”

The 2024/25 Champions League may feature six German clubs

The Bundesliga could have yet another club in the 2024/25 Champions League group stage. Assuming Dortmund collects the European title and finishes fifth in the Bundesliga, a sixth German side will be added to the tournament. Under this scenario, the sixth-placed Bundesliga team would join Dortmund and the top four German clubs in the competition.

Eintracht Frankfurt is currently holding on to sixth in the table. The Eagles have a five-point lead over Freiburg in the standings at the moment. Nevertheless, Germany would also lose one of their Europa League spots if this particular sequence of events pans out.

The scenario is, however, not exactly set in stone. Despite the slim advantage against PSG, Dortmund does not have a high chance to win the Champions League this season. They currently have the lowest odds of any of the four clubs remaining in the competition. Even if they get by the Parisians, a tough matchup against either rivals Bayern or mighty Real remains.

Dortmund’s recent win now affects how Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur will tackle the end of their domestic campaigns. The English duo previously thought that they just had to finish in the top five of the Premier League to nab a Champions League place. This is now obviously not the case. Villa currently holds a seven-point advantage over Spurs, but the north London outfit has two games in hand compared to the West Midlands side.

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