'For Everton to be in the mix is unbelievable'
The fight for Champions League football appears to be turning into the race that no-one wants to win. For the second year in a row, it is all but certain that the top five teams in the Premier League will qualify for next season's Champions League. Defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea have opened the door for a team to come out of left-field and clinch a coveted Champions League place.
[Getty Images] The fight for Champions League football appears to be turning into the race that no-one wants to win. For the second year in a row, it is all but certain that the top five teams in the Premier League will qualify for next season's Champions League. But shock defeats and inconsistency means the form of the so-called top sides is falling off a cliff.
Defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea have opened the door for a team to come out of left-field and clinch a coveted Champions League place. Could it be Everton? Brentford?
Even Fulham, 10th-placed Brighton and teams below remain in touch. [BBC] Everton have competed sporadically in Europe throughout the 21st century, most recently in 2017-18 when they featured in the Europa League. They have not featured in the Champions League proper since 1970-71, when it was known as the European Cup.
But eighth in the Premier League, just three points off the top five with seven league games to go, the Toffees are in serious contention to not only compete in Europe but perhaps even reach the continent's top competition. Manager David Moyes was keen not to get carried away with the idea of Champions League football at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but did not shy away from what being in Europe would mean to the club. "I'd love to say it was [a possibility] as I'm trying to be more positive than I would normally be, but for Everton to even be in the mix for Europe is unbelievable, whether it is Conference League or Champions League," Moyes said.