England clubs in danger of losing Champions League additional place
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 12.03.26. | 16:20
It's likely that Chelsea, Manchester, Tottenham and Newcastle will be eliminated
Clubs from the Premier League have rarely embarrassed themselves as much as they did in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League. The self-proclaimed strongest league in the world—probably rightly so—suffered such heavy blows over the past two evenings that its reputation and prestige have been put at stake. Manchester City were demolished by Real Madrid (0–3), Chelsea F.C. suffered the same fate against Paris Saint‑Germain (2–5), and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. fell to Atlético Madrid (2–5), while Liverpool F.C. fared slightly better in their clash with Galatasaray S.K. (0–1). Only Arsenal F.C. and Newcastle United F.C. managed to avoid defeat, although the Gunners were quite fortunate to be awarded a non-existent penalty against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1–1).
With all these results, the England clubs are now in danger of losing the almost secured fifth place in the next Champions League. The EPS spots are awarded through the performances of clubs from each league across competitions, with a total coefficient value divided by the number of teams competing. But the results from Tuesday and Wednesday it’s likely that teams like Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea will be relegated. England currently sit top of the coefficient table still with an average of 22.513, almost 4.5 points clear of Spain in second on 18.031 and further ahead of Germany in third on 18.000. Across competitions, each win is worth two coefficient points, while a draw is worth one. There are also bonus points for progressing through the knockout rounds - 1.5 in the Champions League, 1 in the Europa League and 0.5 in the Conference League.
So, this was not just a bad night for England teams. During the league phase of the Champions League, Premier League teams played 48 matches and suffered only nine defeats, but once the knockout stage arrived everything collapsed in just two evenings. Six matches, four defeats. Three of the six teams now have to overturn a three-goal deficit, and somewhat paradoxically the team that performed best was the one from whom it was least expected—Newcastle. The last time no English club managed to win in the first legs of the Round of 16 was in the 2022/23 season, which raises the question: what went so wrong? Many emphasized the power of the Premier League because as many as six of its teams were among the last 16. It was expected that Manchester City would show their superiority against a vulnerable Real Madrid, or that Chelsea could repeat their excellent performance against Paris Saint-Germain from the FIFA Club World Cup final. The opposite happened.
What also stands out is the dominance of English clubs in the other two European competitions. Aston Villa F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. progressed to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League without major problems, while Crystal Palace F.C. currently looks like by far the strongest team in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The difference in financial power, squad depth, and player quality becomes obvious against weaker opponents. But when a stronger rival appears, the picture changes.
Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Newcastle spent a combined 1.81 billion euros on new players last June. It was expected that such financial power would translate into dominance over everyone in the Champions League when it mattered most—in the knockout stage. Instead, almost all of them now face a very real possibility of being eliminated already in the Round of 16. Many are now pointing to the extreme intensity of the Premier League and the heavy workload on players, suggesting they cannot carry their good form into the knockout matches of Europe’s top competition. If that is the case, then the image of the English league’s power may not be as rosy as it appears. They are not as untouchable as they think—in fact, they look rather exposed.