European football recap: Champions, relegated teams and who have qualified for continental competitions

The top-five European leagues concluded over the weekend with Italian Serie A and Spain’s La Liga the last to play their respective games. Meanwhile,
FA Cup
,
DFB Pokal
and
Coupe de France
finals were played in England, Germany and France respectively.

There’s only the matter of Europa Conference League and UEFA Champions League finals to be played in Europe’s club competitions.

As players shift focus to much-needed rest, Euro 2024 and World Cup qualifiers, we take a look at how things unfolded in the top-five European leagues – English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

English Premier League

Manchester City won the league
for a record fourth straight season,
holding off Arsenal
to clinch the title with a two point gap. Liverpool had also been in title contention until fading off late into the season following a string of surprise defeats and draws.

All three teams that came up at the start of the season – Luton Town, Sheffield United and Burnley – were relegated, the first time it has happened since 1997-98.

Champions: Manchester City

Relegated: Luton Town, Sheffield United, Burnley

Champions League: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa

Europa League: Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Europa Conference League: Chelsea

La Liga

Real Madrid were crowned champions of Spain
and finished 10 points clear of Barcelona who
went the season without a trophy
. Girona, who had produced a stellar run until January, finished third. They have qualified for the UEFA Champions League but their murky ownership status might change things.

Three teams from Andalusia were relegated with Cadiz, Granada and Almeria going down.

Champions: Real Madrid

Relegated: Cadiz, Almeria, Granada

Champions League: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid

Europa League: Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad

Europa Conference League: Real Betis

Serie A

Inter Milan secured the title
with ease and to make things sweeter, they clinched it by beating city rivals AC Milan. With their 20th league title, they added a second star to their logo. Although days after the season concluded, Inter’s owners were unable to pay their loan and the
club ownership went into the hands of US fund Oaktree
.

Champions: Inter Milan

Relegated: Frosinone, Sassuolo, Salernitana

Champions League: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, Bologna

Europa League: AS Roma, Lazio

Europa Conference League: Fiorentina

Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich’s dominance
of 11 straight Bundesliga titles by clinching their first league championship ever. The Xabi Alonso-managed side
went unbeaten the entire season
to boot – a
record in German football
. Leverkusen finished the campaign with a record 28 wins and six draws.

Eintracht Frankfurt have qualified for the Europa League at least and can make it to the Champions League if Dortmund win the Champions League title against Real Madrid in the final.

Champions: Bayer Leverkusen

Relegated: FC Cologne, Darmstadt 98

Champions League: Bayer Leverkusen, VFB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund

Europa League: Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim

Europa Conference League: Heidenheim

Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain clinched their 12th league title
and third in a row. They have now won the French league title in 10 of the last 12 years. PSG secured the title with three games to spare, finishing ahead of Monaco.

Champions: Paris Saint-Germain

Relegated: Lorient, Clermont

Champions League: PSG, Monaco, Brest, Lille

Europa League: Nice, Lyon

Europa Conference League: Lens