Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira and loan club FC Porto are now incapable of qualifying the team for next season’s Champions League, following a defeat on Sunday.
Going into Sunday’s Liga Portugal matches, FC Porto still had an outside chance of a top-two finish and qualifying for the Champions League. More realistically, the team could at least leapfrog SC Braga into third place – which ultimately earns a place in the Europa League qualifiers.
But with top-two teams Sporting CP and Benfica both winning, and Porto losing 2-0 to relegation threatened Estrela Amadora, it’s now mathematically impossible for Fabio Vieira’s loan side to finish any higher that third.
With three games remaining, Porto now also have a two-point gap to make up to Braga to finish in the Europa League qualifying spot.
The good news is that Porto are guaranteed at least some form of European qualifier this summer. With an 11-point lead over fifth place, they can’t drop any further in the table than they already have.
But Vieira’s team are likely to need three wins in their final three games if they want to play in the Europa League instead of the Europa Conference League in 2025/26.
It’s been a disappointing campaign overall, with no hope of a league title, early exits from the cups, and a play-off elimination from the Europa League.
Porto did at least manage to win the Portuguese Super Cup, 4-3 against Sporting, but that was before Vieira arrived from Arsenal on loan.
On an individual note, it’s been a decent campaign for Arsenal’s loan midfielder. Vieira has made 36 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and assisting a further four. But there’s a strong risk he ends the year without much else to show for it.
It’s worth mentioning that Porto are playing in the Club World Cup this summer, but it’s unclear whether Vieira will remain on loan for the entirety of the competition. Most season-long loans end on June 30th, whilst the Club World Cup carries on into July.