Promoted Premier League Clubs That Reached Europe ... And How They Did

Promoted Premier League Clubs That Reached Europe ... And How They Did

Sunderland’s scintillating start to their first Premier League campaign since 2017 has been a breath of fresh air to top-flight football fans.

Far too often in recent years, we have seen promoted clubs enter the English top flight and be completely uncompetitive - Southampton were a prime case study in how not to survive in the PL last season, mustering just 12 points across 38 games, so nearly breaking Derby’s unwanted record of 11.

The gulf in quality for many rising sides can be put down to numerous factors, but the three that almost always receive the majority of the blame are poor recruitment, lack of funds, or simply bad management.

With their masterful summer transfer window, a tremendous manager in Regis Le Bris, and play-off final money, Sunderland appear to have created a brand new blueprint for Championship clubs to follow if they are to survive their typically savage first season in the top flight.

Sunderland remain unbeaten at home this season 👊 pic.twitter.com/qqSnBeJs7M

— Premier League (@premierleague) November 3, 2025

Unbeaten at home so far this season and winning five games from 10, Sunderland remarkably sit fourth - fast forward 28 games from now, and that would guarantee them Champions League football next year.

It is obviously far too early to say that this is where the Black Cats will finish - injuries, fixture congestion and rough patches will undoubtedly materialise and knock them off course - but to see a new side rubbing shoulders with the top dogs so far into the season is refreshing nonetheless, and the effect that can have can be quite intoxicating.

So, embracing the intoxication, let’s dive in. It is a rare occurrence, but what other promoted sides have shocked the country and qualified for continental football on their first attempt?

Wolves 2018/19

The most recent example of a promoted side bypassing their cohorts' typical struggles and climbing their way to the upper echelons of the game occurred in 2018/19, when Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves side - arguably one of the most talented Championship-winning sides of all time – bullied their way into the Europa League qualifying stage at the first time of asking.

Winning 16 games in the first Premier League campaign since 2011/12, Wolves were not to be trifled with: with a squad featuring the likes of Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho and, of course, the late Diogo Jota, the Birmingham-based outfit had quality all over the pitch, ready to pounce on any opponent complacent enough to underestimate them.

Accumulating a point tally of 57 points sealed a 7th-place finish, a magnificent achievement, and the first time a promoted side had qualified for Europe since 2001.

🗓️ On this day in 2019 we came from a goal down to beat Slovan Bratislava 2-1 in the Europa League

21,000 fans watched the ‘behind closed doors’ game, due to a loophole in which ‘accompanied children under 14’ were allowed to attend#Wolves | #WWFCpic.twitter.com/hmoO3uBjD0

— Wolves On This Day (@WolvesOnThisDay) October 24, 2025

Wolves did need to go through the play-off rounds to get to the competition proper, but Raul Jimenez’ 6 goals in as many qualifying games against Crusaders, Pyunik and Torino saw Wolves comfortably reach the group stage.

Here, they were placed in Group K alongside Portuguese outfit Braga, Turkish giants Besiktas, and minnows Slovan Bratislava - I know, right, that’s a lot of B’s - and despite losing to Braga in the opening round of fixtures, Wolves would go unbeaten in their next five, sealing a second-place finish in the group and securing their place in the round of 32 in the process.

They faced Espanyol here, and romped to a 4-0 home win in the first leg, all but securing their place in the next round thanks to Jota’s second hat trick in the competition. They would lose the second leg 3-2, but as I said, the groundworkhad already been done, and Nuno’s side coasted into the last 16.

Olympiakos awaited them next, and it was a much closer affair - Wolves could only manage a 1-1 draw in the first leg despite their opponents playing with 10 men for over an hour, and in a tense second leg, played five months later thanks to COVID-19 inconveniently announcing itself on the world stage, it was Jimenez’ eighth-minute penalty that secured them nervy passage through to the quarter-finals.

😱 That Rúben Neves GOLAZO from every angle 🎥@Wolves || #OTD || #UEL pic.twitter.com/k6Snd510b2

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) February 20, 2023

Thanks to COVID, all subsequent matches were made one-legged fixtures to be played in a neutral stadium, and Wolves met the end of the road in Duisburg, Germany, courtesy of a 1-0 defeat to eventual champions Sevilla.

Ipswich 00/01

18 years previously, Ipswich Town were the last team to leap over the messy mid-table battle and qualify for Europe.

Promoted through the play-offs the previous season, very few held out hope that the Tractor Boys would survive the Premier League, let alone thrive in it. However, smart signings over the summer bolstered the squad significantly, and with “proper Barclay’s” names such as Titus Bramble and Matt Holland scattered around, Ipswich’s focus suddenly changed.

💫 #OnThisDay in 2000, Ipswich Town's Titus Bramble turned into Lionel Messi and did a madness...#ITFCpic.twitter.com/94dhMfpa4S

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) August 26, 2025

With striker Marcus Stewart bagging 19 goals in 34 games, Ipswich defied everyone’s expectations and managed to end the season a remarkable fifth in the table, finishing ahead of Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa.

Back then, the Europa League was known as the UEFA Cup, and this was the competition that Ipswich qualified for. Moreover, instead of utilising the later-used group stage, the tournament was instead organised across seven rounds in a knockout bracket style, not dissimilar to the Grand Slam draws you see in tennis.

Ipswich were handed a relatively easy first-round draw against Torpedo Moscow, and though they made hard work of the home leg (a 1-1 draw in which Bramble had to net an 85th-minute equaliser), they dispatched of the Russian opponents in the second leg thanks to second-half goals from Finido George and Stewart.

Swedish runners-up Helsingborgs IF awaited them in the second round, and once again, Ipswich made a meal of the first leg, slumping to a bore-draw at home. However, Steward once again came in clutch in the second leg, netting twice in seven minutes after Hermann Hreidarsson had levelled the game just after half-time. A 3-1 aggregate win, and Ipswich were in the hat for the third round.

📅 OTD 2001

🏆 UEFA Cup 2nd round 2nd leg

🔴 Helsingborg 1
🔵 Ipswich Town 3
⚽️ Hreidarsson, Marcus Stewart (2)#ITFC

pic.twitter.com/53iYBmNLBv

— Renegade Statman Ⓜ️ (@CallMeStat) November 1, 2025

However, they couldn’t have been dealt a trickier draw, as Italian juggernauts Inter Milan were the next side to relish a fixture against the Tractor Boys.

Remarkably, the English outfit managed to emerge victorious in the first leg, with Alun Armstrong’s late penalty securing a famous victory at Portman Road. However, their visit to the San Siro proved to be the end of the line, as a Christian Vieri hat-trick drowned out another Armstrong finish as Ipswich tumbled out of Europe.

Their continental exit proved timely, as Ipswich were struggling to stay afloat in the Premier League, but though the reduced fixture list gave them a better chance of survival, they ultimately fell back into the Championship, rubbing salt further into the wound.

Nottingham Forest 1994/95

Going back in time now to the mid-nineties - this time it was Nottingham Forest, last season’s surprise European qualifiers, that confounded their critics.

Earning promotion through a comfortable second-place finish in the Championship, Frank Clark’s squad was jam-packed with famous names, including the likes of Stuart Pearce, Stan Collymore, and father to the best striker in the world today, Alfe-Inge Haaland. Really, it was no surprise that they finished as high as they did.

Nottingham Forest have won four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since 1995 👏#NFOTOT | @NFFC pic.twitter.com/PYB7by3P1D

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 26, 2024

Forest surprised everyone with a truly astonishing third-place finish in a campaign where they registered wins over Chelsea, Manchester United and fellow European qualifiers Leeds. Like Ipswich, they secured their place in the UEFA Cup.

However, unlike Ipswich, Forest went deep in the competition, reaching the quarter-final stage, an impressive feat for a side who couldn’t even win the English second tier two years previously.

They were pitted against Malmo in the first round, and while they fell to defeat against the Swedish side in the first leg, Ian Woan’s crucial away goal ensured them safe passage through to the next round, with Bryan Roy’s finish at the City Ground enough to secure a 1-0 second-leg victory.

Things ramped up as they were drawn against French side Auxerre in the next round. Over the course of 180 minutes, there was barely anything to separate the two sides, and as it turned out, Steven Stone’s 23rd-minute strike in the first leg would prove to be the only goal over the tie, vaulting Forest into round three.

ON THIS DAY 1995: Nottingham Forest at Auxerre #NFFC pic.twitter.com/TX5GhPyhjK

— FootballAwaydays (@Awaydays23) October 17, 2024

Round three proved almost identical - faced with another French side in Lyon, this time it was Paul McGregor who netted late in the first leg to once again grab a 1-0 victory, one which they would defend brilliantly at the Stade de Gerland in the second leg, securing their place in the quarter-finals.

However, Forest’s luck eventually ran out - drawn against German giants Bayern Munich, there was simply nothing they could do as the Bavarians swept to a 7-2 aggregate victory - Stone and Steven Chettle bagged the English side’s goals in the tie.

On the plus side, European football proved to be much less of a distraction for the Midlands side than it did for Ipswich, as Forest comfortably secured Premier League survival with a ninth-place finish despite the constant fitness and fixture juggling.

Newcastle United 1993/94

The season prior, Newcastle registered the first ever occurrence of a newly-promoted side qualifying for Europe in the Premier League era. Coming up as champions of the second tier, expectations were always going to be high for the Magpies, and they did not disappoint.

With Andy Cole and Peter Beardsley netting 54 goals between them in all competitions, Newcastle finished third in the league, ahead of Arsenal, and 15 points back from champions Manchester United.

Yep, you guessed it - this meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup, and were pitched against Belgian side Royal Antwerp in the first round.

Newcastle United at Royal Antwerp FC in 1994. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/H9hlIlD5er

— NUFC Memories (@NclUtd_Memories) June 14, 2019

A more one-sided fixture you rarely see - the Tyneside outfit emerged as 10-2 victors on aggregate. A Rob Lee hat-trick, paired with strikes from Scott Sellars and Steven Watson, saw them walk to a 5-0 win in the away leg, and at St. James’ Park, an Andy Cole hat-trick and goals from Lee and Beardsley saw them extend the winning margin further, notching a 5-2 win.

Athletico Bilbao were their next opponents, and things started well. Newcastle found themselves 3-0 up before the hour mark, with strikes from Cole, Beardsley and Ruel Fox handing them the initiative. However, a late capitulation saw them limp to a 3-2 victory, a result which set the tone for the second leg.

Andy Cole (22) for newly-promoted Newcastle in the 1993/1994 Premier League:

• 40 appearances
• 34 goals
• 6 assists

Directly involved in 40 goals in the league. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eiMZPrcDYi

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 21, 2020

At the Estadio San Mames, Newcastle created very little, and could only watch on forlornly as Jose Ziganda’s strike 23 minutes from time proved the decisive blow, with the Basque outfit scraping through thanks to the now abolished away goals rule.