Premier League teams exposed in the Champions League: What went wrong for the self-proclaimed 'strongest league' in the world?

Is the Premier League's superiority status slowly fading away? (Image credits – Heute; licence details). 

For years in football, the Premier League has presented itself as the strongest and most competitive league in the world, boasting the best teams in the world in terms of physical intensity, squad depth and financial backing.

However, in the last 24 hours in the Champions League, the English top flight’s reputation took a serious hit. Amongst the six Premier League teams that had qualified for the Champions League RO16 stage, only two teams – Arsenal and Liverpool – managed to progress.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United were not only eliminated, but they were also sent back to England in a humiliating fashion by their counterparts. In a cumulative aggregate score, the Premier League sides which got knocked out lost by 28-11 against their non-Premier League opposition.

The scorelines were simply shocking as FC Barcelona thrashed Newcastle by 9-3, Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Chelsea by 8-2, Real Madrid thrashed Manchester City by 5-1, and Atletico Madrid thrashed Tottenham Hotspur by 7-5. The four giants of the Premier League getting knocked out in a span of 24 hours in such humiliating fashion was not only shocking, but it also exposed a pattern that has been growing.

The question which arises in the minds of football fans and pundits is whether the English top flight’s dominance in Europe began to fade into dust. The league is well known for its competitiveness, which makes each game interesting, and even the lower-table sides challenge the top-half sides.

However, that intensity seems to fade when the Premier League sides meet other European teams. In England the league games require high intensity, which drains them physically, whereas in other leagues sides can rotate their first-team lineups heavily and still pick up three points on a weekly basis. Therefore, during Champions League weeks, fatigue sets in and the teams struggle.

One of the biggest reasons for the Premier League’s downfall is that the teams are not tactically flexible while their counterparts tactically outclass them. Teams like Manchester City and Chelsea have prepared their teams to play with possession in a structured way with zonal pressing.

However, Real Madrid read them like a book, defended deep, and exposed their shaky defence. Similarly, PSG pressed relentlessly against the Blues and didn't let them assert any control, which killed them completely.

On the other hand, teams like Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur showed the typical defensive and gritty approach against FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid; their approach was brave, but it backfired badly. The La Liga sides tactically adapt in each game and prepare as per their opponents, unlike them.

On top of that, the cohesion and the difference in quality between the two Premier League and two La Liga sides, despite being financially less superior, are huge. Barça, in front of their home, danced with the Newcastle defenders and handed them their worst humiliation in the UCL. In Europe, teams have a set philosophy and adapt against each opponent, due to which the English teams struggled a lot.

The high-intensity approach from the Premier League sides is also a huge disadvantage for them in the Champions League. Teams like Barcelona and PSG thrive against opponents which press man-to-man, going high up the pitch, which creates a lot of spaces in between.

Barça and PSG have quick attacking players up front who simply explode forward the moment they break their opponent’s press. It gets easier to find spaces behind the defence as the traditional Premier League sides prefer man-to-man pressing to zonal pressing.

English teams also try to play the game at 2x speed, while the La Liga sides prefer to slow the tempo down a bit and play with ‘La Pausa', which helps them dominate the game through possession and control the tempo of the game, dictating the play. Instead of this approach, Premier League sides choose a chaotic approach by pressing hard and going in for every duel physically. This makes the players tired, and they let their opponents play exactly the game they want to play, strengthening their hold on the game.

Team cohesion is another aspect that has been found lacking within Premier League teams. The other European teams may have less financial backing than their English counterparts, but the team cohesion is much more than depth. Teams like Chelsea and Manchester City spend millions each transfer window to sign new players, but that doesn't mean the team gets the balance.

These sides often sign young players for high prices and lack certain profiles in their teams required for continental success. The other European teams build their squads with each player assigned an important role, where one midfielder can control the tempo of the game, a defender is versatile in both high-line and compact approaches, and forwards can drop deep and help in build-ups to find space for other attackers up front.

These factors have affected the performances of the Premier League sides in European competitions, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it has declined in Europe after just one bad night in a span of 24 hours. English clubs did manage to find success even last season when 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur managed to win the Europa League. However, this collapse yesterday serves as a warning to the English sides, definitely.

The other European clubs have adapted to their style of play, and with each passing day tactics are evolving while the tactics in the English top flight are going seemingly backwards. English teams place more emphasis on set pieces rather than open play, long balls, and a chaotic approach, while the other European teams prefer to play proper football, not overcomplicating anything. To overcome this challenge, these teams from the British islands must evolve in response to this week's Champions League humiliation.

Former Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend highlighted the key difference between the Premier League and the other European sides, saying, "I think in the Champions League they're more decisive on the counter-attack. If you make a mistake or lose the ball, you get punished.” (sic)

He added, 'That's just football at the highest level – you'll get punished more.' In the Premier League it's been a bit more cautious, a bit more men behind the ball, slow build-ups – the Champions League is the opposite.” (sic)