Rayo Vallecano has made history by reaching the Conference League final, and Spain is celebrating. The red-and-white side defeated Strasbourg 0-2 on aggregate to reach the first major final in the club’s history, securing an extra fifth place in the Champions League for Spanish football.
Despite Freiburg’s 3-0 win over Braga, Spain’s fifth European spot was confirmed thanks to Rayo Vallecano’s victory. With 22.093 points, Spain remains ahead of Germany’s 21.642.
Harry Kane’s equalizer for Bayern Munich against PSG had briefly tightened the race, reducing Germany’s deficit to just 0.424 points. But all depended on Thursday’s matches. Even if Freiburg had advanced to the Europa League final, Rayo’s win within 90 minutes was enough to give Spain an extra Champions League berth.
The suspense stretched into the second leg of the semifinals after Celta Vigo and Real Betis were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Had either side advanced further, the fifth place would have been secured much earlier. In fact, if Celta had beaten Freiburg, Spain’s total would have increased while the German side would have failed to add points.
The battle for European spots in La Liga is now fiercer than ever. Currently, Betis occupies that fifth Champions League slot, sitting fifth in the table. Celta would take the Europa League place alongside Real Sociedad, who won the Copa del Rey, while Getafe would head to the Conference League. But the standings are extremely tight, with several clubs still in contention for European competition.
Rayo Vallecano have etched their name in history and are just 90 minutes away from possibly qualifying for the Europa League, meaning there could be as many as three Spanish teams in that competition. Everything is still up for grabs: the league race is on a knife-edge, and Rayo head to Leipzig to continue their incredible journey.
