Season 3's champions took their bows on Gameweek 38 — London Red, Madrid White, Napoli, Stuttgart and Paris — but at the other end of the table the maths was every bit as final. Across Europe's big five, the lifts are now confirmed: three clubs through the turnstile in each country, three down the trapdoor. Fifteen up, fifteen down, and barely a place of it decided by anything other than the wire.

The format is brutally simple. Finish in the bottom three of a 20-team top flight and you are gone; finish in the top three of Division 2 and you are promoted. No play-off lottery, no reprieve. Here is the full ledger.

England: Leeds bounce up, Burnley bounce back

Three clubs came up last summer; only two of them stuck around. Brighton (6th) and Coventry (15th) made themselves at home, but Burnley — promoted just twelve months ago — managed four wins all season and went straight back through the trapdoor on 25 points. They are joined by Luton, rooted to the bottom on 14, and Derby, who paid the cruellest price of all: relegated by a single point, West Ham surviving 35 to 34.

Coming the other way, Aston Villa were imperious — 81 points, 24 wins, Division 2 won at a canter. Behind them, a proper underdog story: Burton-upon-Trent, a 15,530-seat club under Krasnov, up in second on the meanest defence in the division (11 conceded). The final ticket went to Leeds, relegated from the top flight only last season and straight back up at the first attempt. Spare a thought for Wolverhampton — fourth, four points short, and back in Division 2 for a second season running.

Spain: Leganés run riot, Andorra gatecrash

At the bottom, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria were cut adrift on 17 points, shipping 88 goals — the worst defence in the country. Granada (29) and Valladolid (39) went with them, the latter losing a survival fight we have been tracking for a month.

The promotion picture was dominated by one runaway train: Leganés under Cip won Division 2 with 94 points, 30 victories and a closing run of six straight wins. Cornellà de Llobregat took second — remarkably, while carrying a balance of minus 10.6m SVC — and the third spot produced the headline of the division. Andorra, a genuine minnow with a 7,605-seat ground, edged out Albacete on goal difference (both finished on 67) to climb into the Spanish top flight for the very first time.

Italy: the Genoa derby comes home

Serie A's relegation scrap had the community reaching for the smelling salts.

If you love football, Serie A is the place to tune in today for the relegation battle — if you are a manager in that race, get your defibrillator ready.

When the dust settled, La Spezia were down on 27, with Parma and Empoli both relegated on 39 — Parma surviving the drop into 18th on goal difference, Empoli undone by a closing run of six straight defeats. That sent one supporter into prophet mode:

Empoli goes down, Pisa goes up in Serie A. Next season Pisa goes down and Empoli goes up.

He is half right already. Pisa are indeed promoted, third behind a photo-finish at the top: Genova Blue and Udine both finished on 77 points with identical goal difference, the title settled in Genova Blue's favour on goals scored, 53 to 50. The wider consequence is delicious — with Genova Red surviving in 14th, a Genoa derby returns to the top flight next season.

Germany: the giants return, Hannover hit a record low

Germany delivered the grimmest single line of the season. Hannover finished bottom with two wins and just seven goals scored across 38 games — a number worth reading twice. Bochum (26) and Kaiserslautern (38) completed the relegated trio.

The traffic in the other direction read like a roll-call of fallen royalty. Mönchengladbach stormed up as champions on 88 points under Weisweiler; Mainz followed on 84, closing with six straight wins and the division's most explosive attack (81 goals); and Köln claimed the last automatic place. Three of German football's biggest names, all coming home at once — while Schalke, marooned in 13th, were left to wonder how they missed the party entirely.

France: Rennes regroup, Bastia heartbreak

Grenoble propped up Ligue 1 on 21 points, conceding 90 — the leakiest defence anywhere in the big five. Caen (29) and Valenciennes (31) were the others to fall.

Rennes led the charge back, champions of Division 2 on 78 points, with Lorient edging out Annecy for second on goal difference. Tiny Annecy — a 6,494-strong fanbase — grabbed the third ticket, and the cruelty went to Bastia, fourth and beaten to promotion by a single point.

To Season 3, and on to the fourth

For the promoted clubs, the warm glow will not last long. As Sassuolo's manager — survivors of their own jump up a year ago — put it after another bruising afternoon:

Life after promotion is hard lol.

Thirty clubs change address, the divisions reshuffle, and a new pecking order begins to form. The last word, fittingly, came from the man behind Milano Blue:

Congrats to the winners, the losers, the ones who got promoted and the ones who fought all season. Without each and every one of you, this all wouldn't be possible. To Season 3, and on to Season 4.