You can be the undisputed leader of the UEFA index, have six clubs qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League and not win a single match in the first leg. This is what is happening to English football, which has just experienced two evenings in hell. Welcome to our world, one could say, we French, accustomed to recurring disillusionments. It is rarer to see such a collapse among our English neighbors, comforted by the massive presence of their representatives. There were 5 of them to have qualified directly for the round of 16, and therefore 5 to travel for the eighth first leg, while Newcastle hosted FC Barcelona.
Manchester City sank against Real Madrid, Tottenham and Chelsea took 5 against Atlético Madrid and PSG, Liverpool was cooled by Galatasaray while Arsenal and Newcastle collected a draw with different flavors: unfair for the Magpies, miraculous for the Gunners. It is therefore Newcastle, at home against a European leader, who made the best impression but who risks struggling on the return to the Camp Nou. According to predictions, Arsenal have the best percentage chance of advancing to the next round, with 77.9%. Next comes Liverpool with 53.8%, then Newcastle with 32.2%. Behind, it collapses with 9.4% for Manchester City, 7.3% for Chelsea, and 3.3% for Tottenham. Not famous.
The exhausting Premier League
“The 24 hours that tarnished the reputation of the Premier League, considered the best in the world”thus worries BBC this Thursday morning. The fact of having placed 5 teams in the top 8 and being “protected” by receiving in the return match is not currently profitable for the English teams and the press is wondering if its clubs will make it to the quarter-finals. For many, the cause of this disarray is obviously the fatigue generated by the exhausting Premier League. “The Premier League undoubtedly remains the fastest and most intense championship in Europe, if not the world. Fatigue therefore inevitably sets in as the final stages approach. Maintaining this level of intensity in every match is impossible, and performances inevitably decline with the accumulation of injuries and fatigue. We have seen this many times”écrit The Athletic. “Exhausted English clubs look like stunned boxers in Europe”adds the Daily Telegraph.
When PSG looked for the reasons for its repeated failures in Europe, it found the opposite excuse, that of a championship not strong enough to properly prepare for European games. For the English, it would therefore be the exact opposite, between a championship where you have to fight against each team and a hellish calendar, with the presence of two national cups. And we must not count on the PL and the clubs to arrange the calendar in favor of the clubs involved in the European scene, unlike FC Nantes which accepted the postponement of its match against PSG, initially scheduled for this weekend. Thus, Liverpool and Tottenham will face each other on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., Chelsea and Newcastle will cross swords on Saturday, Manchester City will travel to West Ham and Arsenal will host Everton. With maximum intensity despite heavy legs and the duty to show a much better face to Europe three days later…
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– UPDATE
