At dawn on Sunday, Quirona beat relegation rivals Cádiz 4-1 at home in La Liga, successfully widening the points gap to 20 points in Betis, and locking up the qualification for next season's European competition six rounds ahead of schedule, which is also the debut of "Manchester City B" in the history of European competition.
The difference between Quirona and Cadiz was obvious, with third-ranked Quirona having the absolute advantage. Avery Garcia and Ivan Martin scored to give Quirona a two-goal lead after only 22 minutes of play. In the second leg, Dufourbic added a second goal to increase the lead to 3-0, and although Cádiz recovered a goal late in the game, Porto completed the lockout just before the final whistle to ensure a 4-1 win for Quirona.
According to OPTA, Girona became the sixth team in the history of La Liga, after Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia, to collect 68 points in 32 rounds of the league. Known as the "Magic Team", Quirona is already in the top six of the league, 10 points ahead of fifth-place Bilbao, and has a good chance of qualifying for at least the UEFA Cup next season, as well as the UEFA Europa League.
It is worth noting that both Quirona and Manchester City are part of the City Football Group. According to the rules of the European Football Association, teams from the same group cannot participate in the Europa League at the same time. It is expected that City Football Group will either reduce its stake in Kirona or adjust its board membership structure to comply with UEFA regulations. Similarly, RB Leipzig and Salzburg are both part of the Red Bull Group, and through the restructuring of their shareholdings, they can participate in the Europa League together. Therefore, Kirona is expected to meet Manchester City again in the Europa League next season.
