MADRID, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The week of play-offs in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League has been good news for Spanish clubs, with Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Betis all winning the first legs of their respective ties and that could have an impact on Spain's presence in next season's Champions League.
Real Madrid won 3-2 away to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Real Sociedad and Betis both won away on Thursday. Real Sociedad won 2-1 away to Danish side Midtjylland in the Europa League and Betis cruised home 3-0 away to Gant in the Conference League.
As well as giving the three clubs a foot in the knockout stages of their respective competitions ahead of next week's return legs, those three wins also increased Spain's chances of having a fifth club in next season's Champions League.
The top two leagues with the best results in Europe over the season earn a fifth place in the 2025-26 Champions League, with this week's results seeing Spain's La Liga overtake Italy's Serie A to move second in the ranking.
The Premier League currently leads the ranking with 20,892 points, with La Liga now second with 18,032 points, ahead of Serie A with 17,687 and Germany's Bundesliga and the Portuguese league further behind.
If things stay as they are until the end of the season that would mean Villarreal, who are currently fifth in La Liga, with a six-point lead over Rayo Vallecano in sixth, would play in next season's Champions League.
Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Betis will all be favorites to win next week's return legs, but Italy could close the gap on Spain with AC Milan and Atalanta both playing at home, while Juventus have to defend a 2-1 lead away to Dutch side, PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. ■
