Tottenham Hotspur may have lost last weekend's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, but they were handed a European football lifeline in the process.
Aymeric Laporte scored the only goal of the game at Wembley Stadium to ensure Spurs' quest for silverware goes on.
Although, as a result of Man City lifting the trophy for the fourth year in a row, the race for European football qualification has become a bit more clearer.
However, as revealed by football.london last month, with the introduction of a third UEFA club tournament next season, the Europa Conference League (UECL), things are a little complicated this year.
UEFA's newest tournament was announced before a ball was kicked this season and qualification for it was simple.
The winners of the League Cup have a spot in the UECL, so if Spurs had beaten City then European football would have been guaranteed next season no matter the final Premier League table.
However, as Man City emerged victorious, it means the UECL place drops to the next eligible team in the Premier League.
This is because Pep Guaridola's side have already sealed a place in the Champions League for next season via their position in the top-flight of English football.
Furthermore, this means the UECL place could go to the team that finishes seventh as long as the FA Cup AND League Cup winners finish in the top five.
Should Chelsea and Leicester City finish in the top four, then because one will win the FA Cup, the fifth and sixth-placed team will enter Europa League and the reward for finishing seventh is a spot in the Europa Conference League.
Currently, Spurs sit seventh in the Premier League table and are on course to be playing in Europe next season thanks to Man City.
But midfielder Giovani Lo Celso insists Champions League qualification remains the target despite the Europa Conference League lifeline.
"We know that other windows can open up for us in terms of European competition,” Lo Celso told the Guardian. "But obviously the main aim is to get into the Champions League.
"We all know as players and as a club that the main aim of Spurs is to get into the Champions League. While we still have a chance of that, we will be fighting.
"These last five games … it’s almost like an apprenticeship. It’s a process of trying to get through them.
"We’ll learn from them and it will stand us in good stead for the future."
