The Atalanta and Fiorentina games tonight are crucial for Serie A football. If both teams qualify for the European semis, Italian clubs will mathematically have a fifth spot in the 2024-25 Champions League.
Italy already has a 99.8% chance of having five Serie A clubs in next season’s edition of the UEFA Champions League. The country tops the UEFA Coefficient ranking and must finish in the top two to get an extra spot.
As explained by Thursday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport on page five, Italy will have mathematical certainty of an extra Champions League team next season if Atalanta eliminate Liverpool from the Europa League quarter-finals and Fiorentina progress to the Conference League semis by eliminating Viktoria Plzen.
There is also a second chance. In fact, even if Fiorentina are eliminated and Atalanta beat Liverpool again, Serie A will still grant an extra Champions League spot.
On the other hand, if Fiorentina progress and Atalanta are eliminated, Italy will have to wait for the European semi-finals. Liverpool would still be in the Europa League, while Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich already qualified for the Champions League semis.