The Premier League looked set to dominate this season’s UEFA Champions League after English sides filled five of the top eight spots in the league phase of the tournament. This meant they had five seeded sides automatically through to the last 16, while Newcastle joined them after an all-too-easy play-off win.
The draw and the bracket could have been kinder to England’s sextet, with Chelsea having to play Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City up against Real Madrid, Newcastle United being pitted against Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid the obstacle faced by Tottenham. Even so, with Liverpool and Arsenal both getting kinder ties, against Galatasaray and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, most pundits predicted at least three, and probably four Premier League teams would advance to the last eight.
In the end, just two managed to get through. Given the quality of the opposition they were up against, that in itself was not a huge surprise. The Magpies and Tottenham were both clear underdogs, while PSG and Real are, respectively, defending champions and the most successful side in the competition’s history. But what is shocking, and indeed problematic for English football, is the manner and scale of the four defeats suffered by the Premier League’s finest.
First the Good News
| Home | Score (Agg) | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 2-0 (3-1) | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Liverpool | 4-0 (4-1) | Galatasaray |
Spurs supporters may feel that Igor Tudor finally overseeing a win is good news – more on that shortly. But if we are being positive about things, the fact is that getting two clubs through to the last eight is not exactly a terrible performance in the wider scheme of things.
Arsenal remain favourites for the competition, and having won all eight games in the league phase, it is easy to see why. They only managed a draw in their last 16 first leg but won with room to spare in the 2-0, advancing 3-1 on aggregate. They also have the easiest tie on paper ahead of them, against Sporting, from Portugal.
Liverpool, meanwhile, overcame a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in Turkey to advance 4-1 overall. They brushed Gala aside at Anfield and showed glimpses of their old selves in the second half at Anfield. The Reds will play PSG in the quarter finals, with that round taking place on the 7th and 8th of April, then the 14th and 15th of that month.
Now for the Bad
| Home | Score (Agg) | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 0-3 (2-8) | Paris saint-Germain |
| Manchester City | 1-2 (1-5) | Real Madrid |
| Barcelona | 7-2 (8-3) | Newcastle United |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3-2 (5-7) | Atletico Madrid |
Liverpool and Arsenal will both feel they can go all the way. The latter are favourites, as said, partly down to their kind draw, while Liverpool are not ruled out by the bookies, available at 9/1. However, ignoring the results obtained by those two, Premier League sides lost by a combined aggregate of 28-9 in the last 16.
Over eight separate matches, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs managed just one win and a draw between them, losing six games. It is a sign of just how bad things were that it was Spurs, down in 16th in the PL table and in real danger of relegation, that were the side to provide the win. Moreover, across their two legs, Tudor’s beleaguered troops were perhaps the only ones of the English quartet to avoid total humiliation.
Tottenham lost 5-2 in Madrid against Atleti but showed some heart to win 3-2 on home soil. It was far too little, too late, though, with Diego Simeone’s men advancing 7-5 to a quarter-final clash against Barca. The 7-5 scoreline looks like a close-run thing compared to the other scores, though.
Newcastle lost their return fixture 7-2 in Barcelona, exiting 8-3 on aggregate. They twice came from behind in the second leg and at 2-2 seemed in with a chance and were playing well. However, in the end, they were blown away and were clinging on, trying to avoid the score becoming even more humiliating.
The Magpies were not the biggest losers of the English sides, as it happens. That dubious honour went to Chelsea, who lost 5-2 in Paris and then 3-0 on home soil in the reverse. They had the better of the xG in both games, but you can’t put stats in the trophy cabinet, and an 8-2 aggregate defeat will have hurt the Blues supporters.
Finally, to Man City, who were the favourites against a Real Madrid side suffering from injuries and not at their best this season. City lost 3-0 in Madrid, and it could have been worse. The return fixture saw them go out with a whimper, losing 2-1 on home soil in front of a muted Etihad crowd that did little to fire their side to the remarkable comeback that was required.
More Good News
The Premier League was undoubtedly stung by those results in the last 16. However, there is some further good news for optimists to savour. Despite the shocking results, English clubs are still very much on target to obtain an extra spot in the UCL next term.
The Premier League’s current UEFA coefficient score of 23.847 means they still have a healthy lead over Spain, Germany and Portugal. Moreover, last season, Spain’s 23.892 was enough for La Liga to gain a fifth spot.
With Atleti and Barca set to play in the UCL quarters, Spain are certain to drop points there. Equally, the Real versus Bayern tie means that either Germany or Spain will lose further points. The fifth spot is not quite in the bag for the PL yet, but it would take an incredibly odd sequence of results for them to miss out. And after such a terrible fortnight, English football needs any positives it can find.