Chelsea returned to the Champions League for the first time in over two years after beating Nottingham Forest on the final day of the Premier League season.

A simple tap-in from Levi Colwill at the City Ground was enough to ensure the Blues finished in fourth place and make their return to the best club competition.

Enzo Maresca's side headed into the final game knowing a win or losses for Aston Villa and Newcastle United would be enough to see them through. Both Villa and Newcastle lost to Manchester United and Everton, but it didn't matter as Chelsea got the job done on their own.

It has been a long time coming for the West Londoners who embarked on a painstaking rebuild under the new ownership. Chelsea have swapped managers four times, with Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino all failing to qualify for the Champions League before Maresca's success.

Chelsea are now projected to enter directly into Pot 1, where they will be alongside the who's who in European football, like record winners Real Madrid. This is despite the fact that they haven't kicked a ball in the Champions League since 2023.

Even more interestingly, the two-time winners will be ranked higher than their London rivals Arsenal, who have once again become regulars in the competition under Mikel Arteta.

The reason stems down to UEFA coefficients, a system the governing body uses to determine the strength of the teams. They are calculated based on a club's performance in the club competitions, i.e, Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, from the five most recent seasons.

Clubs are awarded two points for every win and one for a draw. There are also extra points for where the club finishes during the league phase, with the number of points being better for teams competing in the Champions League.

The points keep increasing as clubs progress deeper into the competition, as they get 1.5 extra points for each such round in the UEFA Champions League, 1 extra point for each such round in the UEFA Europa League, and 0.5 extra points for each such round in the UEFA Conference League.

So, as things stand, Chelsea are currently seventh in Europe based on their performances in the last five seasons. This is the same time frame that they won their second Champions League trophy.

Chelsea have 107 points compared to Arsenal's 98 in 12th place. In fact, Manchester United are also ahead of Arsenal in 11th place with 102 points.

Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool are the top-ranked teams. This year's Champions League finalists, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, are just ahead of Chelsea. Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma (won the Conference League and reached the Europa League final under Mourinho) and Barcelona wrap up the top 10.

The teams will be seeded into four pots of nine teams each. Of the top 10 mentioned above, only AS Roma haven't qualified for the Champions League and thus, Barcelona will sneak into Pot 1.

Arsenal will lead Pot 2 alongside the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.

In a related report, explained why EPL will have six teams in the Champions League instead of the usual four.

Chelsea and Arsenal will be joined by Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United.

There will also be space for Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Manchester United to win the Europa League.

Source: TUKO.co.ke