Winners belong among the elite

WATCHING Chelsea and Leicester contest an absorbing FA Cup final, it seemed ludicrous to think that a mere league game between the two might prove more important than winning a major trophy.

Leicester made history for the second time in five years, winning the Cup for the first-time in their 137-year existence and producing a moment their fans, staff and owners will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Even Jamie Vardy looked close to tears at fulltime as he wrote another chapter of his remarkable story. After becoming the only player to feature in every round of the FA Cup from the preliminary round to the final, Vardy found the fairytale ending by lifting the famous trophy.

Yet both sides will be looking with anxiety at Tuesday’s Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge as they try to close out a place in the Champions League for next season.

If Liverpool win all their remaining league games, that encounter may be an effective play-off for a place among Europe’s elite next term. Chelsea will have another chance to book their spot by winning this year’s final against Manchester City, yet for Leicester defeat is likely to mean they miss out on the top four for the second successive season.

Though fans will always remember finals more than league fixtures, those who hold the purse strings think differently. The Champions League is far more lucrative than the Europa League. Furthermore, every player wants to test themselves in Europe’s main club competition, and every top manager wants to experience those occasions. That is why, if a top club wins the FA Cup but finishes outside the top four, it is considered a disappointing season.

So instead of handing a Champions League place to the fourth-best team in the league, why not give it to the winners of the domestic cup? This move would immediately restore prestige to the FA Cup and make Premier League teams think twice about fielding weakened teams in the earlier rounds of the competition.

To win the FA Cup requires nerve, skill and durability, even though it lacks the sheen of old. Though finishing fourth in the Premier League is a fine achievement, the team who does so can often finish miles behind the winners.

Last season, fourth-placed Chelsea were 33 points adrift of champions Liverpool. This season, Manchester City — who have already secured the title — have a 19-point advantage over Thomas Tuchel’s side, who again occupy the final Champions League spot.

What a day this was for Leicester. It deserves to be rewarded with a place among the very best Europe has to offer.