The curtain has fallen on the 2025-26 Premier League season, and with it came a dramatic final day that settled five European spots across three competitions — with some remarkable twists along the way.

Champions League places confirmed

Arsenal, crowned champions for the first time in 22 years, had long since secured their berth in next season's UEFA Champions League alongside Manchester City and Manchester United, all three confirmed before Sunday's final round of fixtures.

Aston Villa's place in the Champions League had also been settled earlier — clinched by their victory over Liverpool in their penultimate match. However, Villa's triumph in the Europa League on Wednesday meant their final league position carried extra weight for the rest of the division.

A fourth-place finish for Unai Emery's side would send five English clubs into the Champions League; a fifth-place finish would trigger six. Villa ultimately beat Manchester City 2-1 on the final day, settling in fourth and capping the total at five, meaning two sides would contest the Europa League from England.

That left Liverpool and Bournemouth scrapping for the fifth Champions League berth. Both were held to 1-1 draws — the Reds by Brentford, Bournemouth by Nottingham Forest — and Liverpool, managed by Arne Slot, claimed the final qualifying position by virtue of their superior standing going into the day.

Sunderland's fairytale Europa League finish

With Aston Villa in fourth, two Europa League spots became available, and four clubs — Brighton, Chelsea, Brentford, and Sunderland — were locked in battle for one of them. Bournemouth had already guaranteed at least seventh place and European football for the first time in their history, confirmed after their midweek draw with Manchester City. Their 1-1 draw on the final day locked them into sixth place and the Europa League.

The second Europa League spot produced the afternoon's most extraordinary story. Sunderland, who had started the day in tenth, beat Chelsea 2-1 while Brighton and Brentford dropped points, catapulting Regis le Bris' side from tenth to seventh in a single afternoon.

The Black Cats became just the tenth club in Premier League history to qualify for European competition at the first attempt after promotion from the Championship — and only the fifth promoted side to earn a European place via their league position. The most recent to do so before Sunderland were Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2018-19 season.

Crystal Palace could also join Bournemouth and Sunderland in the Europa League should they defeat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on 27 May.

Brighton reach Europe for the first time via Conference League

The sole Conference League place went to whichever side finished eighth, and Chelsea — who started the day occupying that position — surrendered it with their defeat to Sunderland, eventually finishing tenth, their lowest Premier League placing since the 2022-23 season.

Brighton, despite a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United, benefited from Chelsea's collapse and Brentford's failure to take points at Anfield. The Seagulls finished eighth and will appear in the UEFA Conference League for the first time in their 122-year history. Brighton had previously qualified for Europe for the first time in 2023 after finishing sixth in the Premier League, but a Conference League campaign had eluded them until now.