English sides seek redemption from Champions League reality check

Kings of the league phase, England’s six Champions League sides were made to look like paupers in the first legs of the last 16 as they failed to muster a win between them.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham have seemingly insurmountable mountains to climb, even with home advantage this week, as they trail by three goals against Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Liverpool and Arsenal will expect to still get past Galatasaray and Bayer Leverkusen, while Newcastle are dreaming of shocking Barcelona in the Camp Nou after outplaying the Spanish champions in a 1-1 draw at St. James’ Park.

But after unprecedented domination of the early stages of the competition, AFP Sport looks at the reasons behind a reality check for the Premier League’s best.

‘Lions in winter, lambs in spring’

The Premier League’s financial advantage over Europe’s other major leagues, thanks to far more lucrative television rights deals, has not been reflected in the latter stages of the Champions League for some time.

Only three of the last 13 Champions League winners have come from England.

Arsenal were the only Premier League club to reach the last four last season and none reached the semi-finals in the 2023/24 campaign.

Fatigue after a gruelling winter schedule is often cited as the main factor for the decline of English sides as the only major league without a winter break and two domestic cup competitions.

French great and former UEFA president Michel Platini once referred to English sides as “lions in winter, lambs in spring”.

“In general, I think it is not helpful for English clubs not to have a winter break,” said Liverpool boss Arne Slot.

Of the six English sides involved in the Champions League, four of them also made the League Cup semi-finals and five were involved in FA Cup action in the days before their European disappointment last week.

Up against the best

Despite the Premier League’s collective financial might, in three of the six last-16 ties involving English clubs, they are facing sides with greater revenue.

Real Madrid remain the world’s richest club and defied recent poor form to blow away Manchester City 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain also clicked back into gear to see off Chelsea 5-2 and Barcelona were happy to escape Newcastle on level terms after Lamine Yamal’s penalty snatched a late draw.

Tottenham’s 5-2 defeat by Atletico was also little surprise given Spurs’ sorry domestic form which has left them fighting for their survival in the Premier League.

“Before the Premier League is the best in the world, right?,” said City boss Pep Guardiola.

“The competition (Champions League) is tough and everyone is so well prepared.”

Clash of styles

The Premier League has become even more attritional this season, with games littered with long throw-ins and physical battles at set-pieces.

“It’s so relentless, physically. There’s not much control; it’s a running game. It’s about duels,” said Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon earlier in the season.

Slot commented earlier this month that the English game is no longer a “joy to watch” due to the emphasis on dead balls.

“Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says ‘just go on’,” added the Dutchman.

By contrast, Slot was angered by Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s reluctance to allow any physical contact from corners as the Reds had an equaliser ruled out in their 1-0 defeat in Istanbul.

Guardiola has responded to the fashion for a more physical Premier League by beefing up his City side.

But they lack the control and poise to dominate the ball they used to have and were cut open by Federico Valverde’s first-half hat-trick in Madrid.