It was a tough night for English football in Europe.
On Wednesday, not a single Premier League team won in the Champions League round-of-16 first legs. Arsenal drew 1‑1 away at Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle United also drew 1‑1 at Barcelona. Chelsea lost 5‑2 at Paris Saint-Germain. Manchester City went down 3‑0 at Real Madrid.
Earlier in the week, Liverpool lost 1‑0 at Galatasaray. Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 5‑2 at Atlético Madrid. Out of six English sides, none managed a win.
The Champions League is the stage where the best European teams face off. It includes top clubs from Spain, England, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and others. Winning here has long been the benchmark for league strength.
Real Madrid leads the way with 15 UCL titles, the most in history.
English clubs have had success too. Liverpool has 6 UCL titles, Manchester United has 3, Chelsea has 2, and Manchester City won their first in 2023, completing a historic treble.
The Ballon d’Or shows a similar pattern. Lionel Messi won it 8 times, all while playing outside England. Cristiano Ronaldo won 5 times, only once with Manchester United; the rest were in Spain with Real Madrid.
Until Rodry of Manchester City won in 2024, no player from an English club had claimed the award since Ronaldo in 2008. Most recently, Usman Dembélé of PSG won the award, and his team was named Team of the Year.
European clubs also dominate globally. PSG, champions of Europe, faced Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. Chelsea won 4‑0, briefly restoring Premier League prestige. They then beat Barcelona 3‑0.
But Chelsea’s recent 5‑2 loss to PSG shows how quickly things can change.
Champions of Europe continue to outperform even the world champions.
English clubs now have work to do. Reputation alone is not enough.
If they want to prove they are the best, they must perform consistently on Europe’s biggest stage against the strongest opponents. Until then, the debate over which league is truly top will continue.
