Kolkata: And then there were two. From an unprecedented six in the last 16, that is the number of teams from the Premier League remaining in the Champions League.
Liverpool and Arsenal won in a round where Manchester City and Chelsea exited on the back of 1-5 and 2-8 defeats. Tottenham Hotspur’s victory in London made the margin of defeat (5-7) respectable but Newcastle, who were injury-time minutes away from winning at home, collapsed after a promising start to lose 2-7 (and 3-8 over both legs) to Barcelona.
So what gives? Why are teams from the world’s richest league struggling in Europe’s premier competition? Last term, Arsenal were the only side from England in the semi-finals. Ditto 2022-23 when Manchester City went all the way. Next season, there were none.
“There are always many factors behind a performance,” said Luis Enrique after defending champions Paris St Germain eased into the quarter-final. “There’s a lot of complexity behind an elite football game.” Ergo, no easy answer. But maybe a combination of factors.
Premier League missing a winter break has been spoken about, Arne Slot iterating the point recently, but without one 15 teams from the competition have played in the Champions League final since 2000-01. Three of those finals were all-English affairs. In seven of the eight seasons from 2004-05, there was a Premier League club in the final. In that time, Manchester United played three finals in four seasons.
So the absence of a holiday in December-January – of the kind that keeps players fresh in Spain, France and Germany – is not the overriding factor. Fatigue though can be a reason and it may not be because of the lack of a winter break.
Last term, eight of those who had started for Liverpool against Southampton lined up against PSG in the return leg of the last-16 tie four days later. The corresponding number for PSG away to Rennes? Three. It may not have been the only reason why Liverpool lost on penalties but it could have been “one of the factors.” For the record: in 2024-25, Southampton finished exactly at the opposite end from champions Liverpool.
With so much of wealth distributed across the Premier League – last summer, its clubs lavished a combined £1.91 billion on players which was more than what the other four of the big five leagues spent – each match is difficult. That is said without disrespect to La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 but may explain why Slot couldn’t rest his players while Enrique could.
And then there is the shift in style in the Premier League. Time was when clubs tried playing like City, stitching a tapestry of passes and looking to score through a cut-back. This time, matches have looked less organised with teams relying on set-pieces, long balls and long throws. Cue what Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon said earlier in the season.
“It’s so relentless physically. There’s not much control; it’s a running game. It’s about duels.”
Four of the six Premier League teams were involved in the Carabao Cup, a competition which does exist in France whose league as well as that of Germany is shorter, and five in the FA Cup going into the last-16. It could be why they English teams have looked like what former UEFA chief Michel Platini had said: “Lions in winter, lambs in spring.” (Five of the six, including relegation-threatened Spurs, finished in the top eight meaning unlike Real Madrid, Atletico and PSG they did not need an extra round.)
And there’s the rebuilding. You can question the direction they are taking but City, Liverpool and Chelsea have overhauled rosters. It is again proof of how deep their pockets are that City could spend £188m in January 2025 and £95m one year later, Chelsea bloat the squad splurging on young players and Liverpool set a British transfer record with Aleksander Isak and also buy Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong. But there can be no denying that they are far from where they want to be.
“We are not a complete team, that is a reality,” said Pep Guardiola on Tuesday. There are things in certain moments when City need to be more clinical, said their manager. “My feeling is it will be a question of time.” If Chelsea and Liverpool are equally confident, they are not showing it. Former Chelsea player Joe Cole said on TNT Sport that a lot of money has been spent “but it’s simply not good enough.”
Last but not the least, City, Chelsea and Newcastle -who have not recovered from losing Isak- lost to clubs who spent more on players’ wages. As per Deloitte Football Money League Clubs, PSG’s salary bill in 24-25 was £457m while that of Chelsea was £353m. Newcastle spent £238m and Barcelona £442m. Real’s wages were £429m, that of City was £397m. Premier League clubs are rich but some in Europe are richer and not for the first time, it is showing.