Rangers handed huge Champions League boost thanks to Atalanta's stellar finish in Serie A

Rangers will be seeded throughout qualifying for the UEFA Champions League thanks to Atalanta's top four finish in Serie A.

The Bergamo side - who already grabbed a Champions League spot by ending Bayer Leverkusen's 51-game unbeaten with a resounding 3-0 victory in the Europa League final on Wednesday - secured a top four finish in Italy with a 3-0 home win against Torino. Bizarrely, La Dea still have one more league fixture to fulfill, and a win against Conference League finalists Fiorentina next Sunday could see them jump above Juventus into third place. Their success in qualifying for the Champions League has positive repercussions for Philippe Clement and Rangers, who now know they will be seeded for both the third qualifying round and play-off if they reach that stage in their quest to join Celtic at Europe's top table next season.

Being seeded for both qualifiers should also present a slightly easier route to the potential riches of the newly revamped Champions League with Rangers now set to avoid coming up against Benfica in both rounds. The Portuguese giants have also benefitted as they've been handed a direct ticket into the big time and will not need to enter the lottery of qualifying.

The Light Blues are looking to make amends for their showing in the Champions League qualifying rounds at the start of last season, with Michael Beale's team crashing out at the final hurdle after a heavy 7-3 defeat to PSV over two legs. The third qualifying round of the 2024/25 Champions League will get underway over weeks on August 6/7, with the return leg coming a week later.

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