Online Reporter
London. — IT was not long ago that football fans and pundits were admiring the power of the English Premier League.
All six of its clubs competing in the Champions League reached the knockout stages of the competition for the first time.
But across two legs of last-16 action, those suggestions of dominance have been dashed with just two teams — Arsenal and Liverpool — progressing to the quarter-finals.
Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham were all eliminated — the first time four sides from a single nation have gone out at the same stage — having each suffered heavy defeats across their respective ties.
Overall, the four sides conceded 28 goals, suggesting it was a humbling experience for English Premier League clubs.
While specific issues can be offered for each team, it still begs the question: what went wrong for the English sides in Europe?
The format of the Champions League means there is rarely such thing as a favourable draw.
Five of the six English teams competing in Europe’s top competition finished inside the top eight of the league phase, securing automatic progression to the last 16.
Newcastle booked their place later after coming through the play-offs.
Several of Europe’s heavy hitters also finished outside the top eight and therefore faced the lottery of the play-offs – but, across two legs rather than the one-off games of the league stage, the higher-seeded teams generally came out on top.
That left the English Premier League sides facing tough matches in the last 16, so is it really that surprising to see so few remaining?
Manchester City drew Real Madrid for the sixth time in seven Champions League campaigns and the 15-time winners brushed aside their patchy league form to progress 5-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea faced an uphill task against defending champions Paris St-Germain and were made to suffer with an 8-2 aggregate defeat.
Newcastle held their own against Barcelona and were in contention for 135 minutes of action but conceded four goals in the second-half of the second leg on Wednesday night to eventually lose 8-3 on aggregate.
It is perhaps unsurprising that relegation-threatened Tottenham were unable to break down European giants Atletico Madrid, eventually losing 7-5 across two legs.
Before the first legs, Opta predicted four of the six English teams would go through.
After the first leg, only Arsenal and Liverpool were tipped to progress, with that prediction ultimately coming to fruition – and it could be argued they each faced more favourable opponents in Bayer Leverkusen and Galatasaray.
Premier League managers have long complained about the number of games and lack of rest for their teams.
Finishing inside the top eight of the Champions League phase meant avoiding the two play-off matches but, in what is already a packed schedule, that seems to have made little difference.
Following their European exit, Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior said his side were tired having played “over 100 games in 18 months with no break” because of the demands of domestic and international football.
City boss Pep Guardiola has often lamented the schedule, previously calling it a “disaster” for players, and cancelled training before his side’s second leg against Real in favour of a rest day.
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also called for change, while his successor Arne Slot said the lack of a winter break in England is “not helpful”.
By contrast, the French, German and Spanish leagues enjoy winter breaks spanning 10-17 days.
At this point in the season, Premier League teams, particularly those still in cup competitions, have played more games than other clubs across Europe.
Of the teams who competed in the last 16 of the Champions League, the top eight players with the most minutes all represented Premier League clubs, with Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk top.
Inevitably, the demands of competing on all fronts takes its toll and that can also lead to more injuries, a problem Tottenham in particular have had to contend with. — BBcsport.
