Eintracht Frankfurt won the main prize with the Europa League triumph: Despite eleventh place in the Bundesliga, the SBU moves into the Champions League and even ends up in pot 1 in the draw. A reunion with FC Barcelona is therefore also possible.

Long before Eintracht Frankfurt stormed through Europe, UEFA of all people laid the foundation for the biggest day in the history of the Hessen club. With the decision to guarantee the winner of the Europa League a permanent starting place in the group stage of the Champions League from the 2014/2015 season, the European Football Association is causing a curiosity at the end of the 2021/2022 season.

With Eintracht from Frankfurt, who were only physically present for large parts of the second half of the Bundesliga season, the table eleventh from the past season moves into the premier class. For the first time, five German teams are playing in Europe’s elite league. A Champions League participant has never been worse in their own league. Things are even better for the SGE after the triumph in Seville: Regardless of the coefficient, which “only” would have been enough for CL qualification via the league, the Europa League champion ends up in lot one. With chances of a relatively solvable group.

In addition to Frankfurt, the yet to be determined Champions League winner (Liverpool FC or Real Madrid) will also end up in the seeded pot for the draw on August 25th. In addition, the champions of the six strongest associations (Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal). Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain and FC Porto have already been confirmed. In England, Manchester City has the best chance of winning the national title with one matchday before the end of the season, but could still be intercepted by Liverpool FC. In Italy, the starting position for AC Milan is similar, city rivals Inter only have an outsider chance.

If Real Madrid also wins the CL final after the title in Spain, Ajax Amsterdam would move up into the first pot as Dutch champions. Frankfurt avoids all teams in pot 1 in the preliminary round. SGE fans will therefore have to keep their fingers crossed for Manchester City in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League final to keep hopes of a Champions League game against Liverpool at Anfield. Or rely on qualifying for the round of 16. FC Bayern is also in pot one as the German champions.

From pot two, the remaining 24 teams will be ranked strictly according to their placement in the UEFA five-year ranking. RB Leipzig ended up in the second strongest pot this season, also thanks to their participation in the Europa League semi-finals. Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, ??Juventus Turin, Atlético Madrid and FC Sevilla have already secured their place in pot two.

Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, only follows in pot 3, having been replaced by Leipzig as the German number two in the UEFA ranking for the first time this season. For BVB coach Marco Rose, a reunion with ex-club Red Bull Salzburg, which starts in the European Cup as FC Salzburg, is out of the question. Bayer Leverkusen also have a place in the third pot when they return to the premier class.

Lostopf four is the only one without a German representative. With the Belgian champions Club Brugge and Scotland’s title holders Celtic Glasgow, only two teams have been determined. The remaining participants will be determined over several qualifying rounds. As the Scottish runners-up, Frankfurt’s Europa League final opponent still has a chance at the premier class: Rangers have to survive two qualifying rounds, if they are successful they would be a possible preliminary round opponent for Eintracht. Special case: If AC Milan is pushed off the top of the table in the Italian league, the “Rossoneri” end up in the fourth and not the first pot.

Teams with a star* have yet to qualify.

Bold teams are guaranteed to end up in the respective lottery pot.

For Bayern Munich, the group stage of the Champions League should not be a big hurdle again. Almost traditionally, the preliminary round of the premier class for the German record champions is just a kind of gallop for the knockout phase. A possible hammer group would look like this: Chelsea, Inter, Marseille.

Coming from pot two, RB Leipzig have a great chance of an easier group than this season, when they were only third behind Manchester City and Paris St. Germain. Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, is threatened by a demanding group with two top European clubs, which also applies to Bayer Leverkusen.

For Eintracht Frankfurt there could be a quick reunion with Glasgow Rangers and FC Barcelona. In addition, the representative of the Ukrainian championship, which was canceled due to the war, Shakhtar Donetsk, or Inter Milan – the Hessians had played against both teams in the Europa League in 2019. A demanding, but also solvable group for the growing European harmony. How to twist and turn it: Coming from pot 1, Frankfurt will be drawn at least one beatable opponent. 3rd place in the group phase and the associated “relegation” to the Europa League? For Eintracht that would be the chance to defend the title.

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