Man Utd open up European football qualification route for bitter rivals Liverpool

Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final penalty shootout victory over Brighton has given Liverpool a boost in their battle for European qualification.

Seven European places are available to clubs in the Premier League each season with the top four automatically qualifying for the Champions League group stage, and fifth qualifying for the Europa League group stage.

The two other berths come from both domestic cups, the FA Cup winners also get a spot in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup winners qualify for the Europa Conference League.

However, if the winners have already qualified for Europe via their league position then the qualification place goes to the next best-placed team in the league standings.

United will face Manchester City in the FA Cup final, but both are likely to finish in the top five meaning the team placing sixth will earn a place in the Europa League group stage.

The Red Devils are also the holders of the Carabao Cup meaning the team finishing seventh in the league is likely to qualify for next season's Conference League.

That's exactly what happened to West Ham who finished seventh last term and are now in the semi-finals of the competition.

A boost for Liverpool

There are few situations where Liverpool would be happy to see their rivals United reach the FA Cup final but this could be one of them.

Jurgen Klopp's side currently sit seventh in the league and with Brighton now unable to qualify for Europe by winning a trophy, the Reds only need to finish sixth to qualify for the Europa League.

The gap to fourth-placed United is nine points which at this stage of the season looks unreachable so they will have to settle for a place in Europe's second-tier competition.

However, qualifying would provide a much-needed revenue boost and also mean they avoid having to play in the Europa Conference League which begins with a play-off round in early August.

It would also give them a good chance to win silverware which could reignite their fortunes under Klopp.