Winning the Champions League is a moment to cherish. Ask Chelsea – the club had long been driven by an obsession to win the European Cup. They gave it their all and when they finally won it, in dramatic fashion on penalties, it was a triumph and fulfilment for owner Roman Abramovich and his club. Back in 2012, Chelsea were the last English club to win the Champions League. It begs the questions: Why has no English club won it since?
That Chelsea team were not exhilarating, but they showed a great resolve when it mattered. Didier Drogba’s 88th-minute goal dragged the Blues into extra-time and on penalties. Bayern Munich were leading 3-1 on penalties when the London club masterminded a remarkable turnaround with goalkeeper Petr Cech instrumental. The Ivorian striker then delivered the coup de grace.
English representation has been peripheral
Ever since then, Premier League clubs have played a peripheral role in the latter stages of the Champions League. Chelsea went on to reach the semi-finals against Atletico Madrid in the 2013-‘14 season. Last season Manchester City played Real Madrid in the last four, Fernando’s own goal in the second leg proved to be the difference between the two clubs. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid (twice) and FC Barcelona have all won the European Cup since that night at the Allianz Arena.
This season, the English challenge may crumble before it has even materialised. Here is a thought – by Wednesday, or at least by the end of the round of sixteen, all Premier League clubs may well have been eliminated from the European Cup.
For one, Arsenal no longer harbour grand dreams about European football, let alone about progress to the quarter-finals after a farcical, season-ending 5-1 first leg defeat against Munich, which plunged the Londoners into an existential crisis, questioning the very notion of “Wengerian” football and the Frenchman’s future at the club he shaped into a modern great.
This week, the last two representatives of English football, Leicester City and Manchester City, face tricky opponents in Sevilla and Monaco respectively. Leicester’s domestic demise is almost poetic – at last, the English champions, saturated with glory and stalled by a new-found status, are playing at the level they were always supposed to play at, close to the relegation zone. There can be no more thrilling a tale then the champions getting relegated.
Leicester’s Champions League dream may be over
For Leicester, Europe provides somewhat of an outlet from their Premier League misery. Everything about the big razzle-dazzle was fresh and intriguing to the Foxes. They had to read through UEFA’s 155 page manual on how to host European nights. They played their way against Club Bruges, FC Porto and FC Kopenhagen to the top of Group G.
But in the knockout stage, Sevilla may be a hurdle too many. The Spanish have rebooted yet again after an another exodus this summer – thirteen players left, but through clever transfers, player development and the arrival of Chilean coach Jorge Sampaoli, Sevilla is playing excellent football in the La Liga. They are aiming higher than the Europa League and target Leicester as their next scalp.
Monaco, Manchester City’s opponents, are a team of superlatives in Ligue 1. The team from the principality have 59 points and scored 76 goals. They are challenging the hegemony of Paris Saint-Germain. Radamel Falcao and Valere Germain have formed a lethal partnership up front. Youngsters Kylian Mbappé, Thomas Lemar and Tiemoué Bakayoko are a testimony to Monaco’s famed La Turbie academy.
Leo Jardim has moulded a fine team in which every player understands his role. The same does not apply to Manchester City – Guardiola’s players may know their roles, but have failed to execute the game plan throughout the season with underwhelming performances and a nagging fear that the Spaniard may not represent a fast-track ticket to glory as a result. Guardiola was appointed to deliver the Champions League after all. A slip-up against Monaco in the first leg and the prospect of no English clubs among the last eight looms large.
It is perhaps a paradox that the clubs from the best league in the world cannot consolidate their status on the continent, in turn warranting the question – is the Premier League really that good? It is swash-buckling, played at a great pace, often physical and thoroughly entertaining, but the commercial juggernaut may be selling a fallacy – vast resources combined with stardust from great coaches and excellent players do not make the best league in the world, or at least not the most competitive one when faced with Europe’s elite. Both Leicester and City have a point to prove then.