“Welsh champions The New Saints are playing in the Champions League first qualifying round,” notes Ryan Flitcroft. “But has any team from this early in the qualifying stages reached the group or even knockout stages? If so, what is the furthest a team has gone in the competition relative to where they entered it?”
Guto Ifan is quick to tackle this question with a popular answer. “In 2006, Liverpool were possibly the most illustrious name to ever appear in the first qualifying round, having won the previous year’s competition but finishing fifth in the Premier League. At that time the rule that you were automatically in if you were champions did not exist.”
