Champions League exposes Premier League limits as English clubs exit early
The Straits Times
March 19 - The Champions League's last-16 stage delivered an unusually stark reckoning for the Premier League, with only Arsenal and Liverpool advancing from the six English clubs that reached the knockout rounds. Read more at straitstimes.com.
March 19 - The Champions League's last-16 stage delivered an unusually stark reckoning for the Premier League, with only Arsenal and Liverpool advancing from the six English clubs that reached the knockout rounds.
For the first time all six Premier League sides competing in Europe's top competition had made the last 16, with five of them finishing inside the top eight of the league phase, but the English dominance proved short-lived.
Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were all eliminated at the same stage - the first time four teams from a single nation have exited together in the round of 16.
The four teams conceded 28 goals, denoting how exposed the clubs were over two legs.
The scale of the exodus, however, stands in sharp contrast to recent history.
Between 2018 and 2023, Premier League clubs reached at least one Champions League final in five of six seasons, often supplying multiple semi‑finalists and winning the trophy three times.
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