At a time when Ukrainian football, and the country in general, is going through a turbulent moment with the invasion of Russia, the Champions League semi-finals brought good news. With Villarreal’s defeat by Liverpool (2-5 on aggregate), Shakhtar Donetsk secured direct entry into the group stage next season.

That’s because between Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City (the latter will decide the other place in the final), the winner of this edition of the Champions is already guaranteed entry to next season’s group stage via the tournament. Therefore, UEFA dedicates this vacancy to the country that has the best classification And no direct entries, in this case Ukraine.

It is reported that the Ukrainian Federation and clubs recently agreed to end the tournament, without declaring the champion or confirming the relegation. However, for the purposes of European competitions, the classification was created during the winter break, led by Shakhtar Donetsk, which until Tuesday night was a guaranteed place in the play-off. Dynamo Kyiv, who finished second, will enter the second qualifying round.

It is reported that so far these are the clubs that have already secured entry to the group stage of the Champions League next season: Real Madrid, Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus, FC Porto, Inter, Napoli, Sporting, Milan, Dortmund Salzburg and Shakhtar Donetsk.