Real Madrid win lifts Shakhtar into next Champions League. Dortmund loss means Eintracht miss out
GENEVA (AP) — Real Madrid winning the Champions League title also was a victory for Shakhtar Donetsk and defeat for Borussia Dortmund also was a loss for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Madrid’s 2-0 win Saturday in the final in London settled the last direct entries into the revamped 36-team Champions League lineup for next season.
UEFA retains an entry for the defending champion but Madrid already secured its place by winning the Spanish league title a month ago.
That entry reverts to the domestic league winner in the qualifying rounds that has the highest ranking based on results in UEFA competitions over five seasons. That is Ukraine Premier League winner Shakhtar, which gets the upgrade and the guaranteed share of Champions League prize money worth tens of millions of euros (dollars).
Dortmund qualified for the Champions League as the fifth-place team in the Bundesliga. Germany got a bonus fifth entry that UEFA now awards to the two countries whose teams performed best across this season’s European competitions. Italy got the other bonus place.