MANCHESTER UNITED’S FA Cup final win over Man City relegated Chelsea to the Europa Conference League.
And fans were left horrified after discovering their potential opponents in next season’s competition.
Chelsea initially hoped they’d qualified for the Europa League after a sixth-place finish in the Premier League under the recently-departed Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues previously won the competition in 2013 and 2019.
And supporters were feeling confident over a hat-trick of victories despite preparing to welcome another new boss to Stamford Bridge.
However, Chelsea will now find themselves in a competition they’ve never played in before.
United’s 2-1 win over Man City in Saturday’s FA Cup final win at Wembley saw the Red Devils, who finished outside league qualification in eighth place, reach the Europa League.
As a result, fifth-place Spurs effectively dropped to sixth for the second Europa spot.
And it pushed Chelsea down a notch in the process too, with the Blues taking seventh-place Newcastle’s place in the Conference League.
The Magpies will have no European football at all next term.
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But Chelsea now find themselves in uncharted waters, with the Conference League only in its third season.
Roma won the inaugural competition, with West Ham landing the prize last year.
This term’s final will see either Fiorentina or Olympiakos crowned champions.
Yet fans were left horrified after seeing some of the teams involved in the Conference League qualifying stage,
Every team, including Chelsea, must get through a two-legged tie in August to secure a final place in the group stage.
The first leg is played on August 22, with the second on August 29 after the draw on August 5.
And Chelsea fans could be set to clock up some serious air miles, with teams from faraway lands like Lithuania, Georgia and Kosovo involved in the qualifiers.
Estonia, Montenegro and Iceland also have representatives in the competition.
While there could even be a return to Azerbaijan, the scene of Chelsea’s 3-1 Europa League triumph over Arsenal five years ago.
And those not keen on long-distance journeys will be hoping for some fixtures closer to home.
Linfield and Crusaders will be in from Northern Ireland, while Connah’s Quay Nomads, Bala Town and Caernarforn Town will represent Wales.
The Republic of Ireland also has several teams in Derry City and Shelbourne, while Scotland’s St Mirren will be hoping to get through too.
And fans were left crossing their fingers over this summer’s clash.
One said: “Please let it be a Scottish team.”
Another fan said: “FC Bruno’s Magpies from Gibraltar.”
One noted: “Away days at Crusaders.”
Another added: “Chelsea vs Slask Wroclaw. We will be there.”
Meanwhile, Newcastle fans had mixed reactions to missing out on Europe.
One said: “No Europe next season but we can go on a top four charge again.”
Another declared: “Less games for us better until we improve squad depth.”
One noted: “Not good enough, club have to understand that and get finger out.”
Another added: “Got to go down as a poor season.”
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