Up until the last 16, English clubs had dominated the Champions League. Right from the off, they had an advantage, with six teams in the hat due to Spurs winning the Europa League last term. And the English sides really hammered that advantage home in the league phase of the competition, with Premier League clubs finishing first, third, fourth, sixth and eighth.
That meant English football had five of the eight seeded spots for the round of 16. Newcastle United, who had finished the league phase down in 12th (albeit ahead of Juve, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund), came through the play-offs with ease. Their 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag meant that the PL had a record six teams through to the last 16.
Arsenal had won all eight of their league clashes and were favourites to go all the way. This was supposedly all an indication of the might of the Premier League, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all among the favourites to win the tournament. It looked like the financial power of the Premier League was creating a playing field that was far from level. With Italian football seemingly in disarray and none of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain at their very best, to some it seemed that only Bayern Munich might be able to stop the Premier League procession. What a difference 48 hours makes.
Tuesday Results Troubling
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Galatasaray | 1-0 | Liverpool |
| Atalanta | 1-5 | Bayern Munich |
| Atletico Madrid | 5-2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Newcastle United | 1-1 | Barcelona |
The first set of the round of 16 first-leg matches took place on Tuesday, and Liverpool got things started in the early kick-off against Galatasaray. As the seeded team, the Reds were playing away, and they never really got started. The Turkish side were just about good value for their 1-0 win, but Liverpool will feel they should still prove too strong at Anfield. Although any over-confidence might, and should, have been knocked out of them by the results that followed for their Premier League rivals.
Spurs and Newcastle also played on Tuesday, as did Bayern Munich, the Germans battering Atalanta 6-1 in Italy. Tottenham, still winless in 2026, were given little hope against Atletico Madrid, despite finishing 10 places above them in the league phase. Such an assessment proved right, Spurs slumping to 4-0 down after just 22 minutes. In the end, it was 5-2, so one could say they got off lightly, but given their dire home form, it is near impossible to see them mounting an effective comeback.
Newcastle did better, but they conceded a late, late penalty to Barca, and Lamine Yamal converted it in the 96th minute. Harvey Barnes had scored what looked like a winner in the 86th minute, but it wasn’t to be. The Magpies held their own, though and if they can keep things tight early on in Catalonia, they could yet spring a surprise.
But Wednesday’s Woeful
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1-1 | Arsenal |
| Bodø / Glimt | 3-0 | Sporting Lisbon |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 5-2 | Chelsea |
| Real Madrid | 3-0 | Manchester City |
If two losses and a draw on Tuesday were troubling, the same trio of results on Wednesday was well and truly woeful. This time, it was Arsenal kicking off early, but the key moment for them came late. It seemed they were headed for a 1-0 defeat in Leverkusen, but former Bayer star Kai Havertz netted a penalty in the 89th minute to earn the Gunners a draw. That result was disappointing but means the north Londoners remain favourites to make the last eight.
The same cannot be said of Manchester City, who were strong favourites in their tie against Real Madrid. They lost 3-0 in Spain, Federico Valverde scoring a magnificent hat-trick inside 42 minutes. Real were good value for the win, and it could easily have been worse for City, not least as the hosts had a penalty saved. Pep Guardiola’s men looked shell-shocked and have a mountain to climb back in Manchester in the second leg.
Chelsea also became one of the four Premier League sides to lose, and one of three to go down by a three-goal margin, when they lost 5-2 in Paris. It was revenge for PSG, who were well beaten by the Blues in the FIFA Club World Cup final last summer. It was a topsy-turvy clash in which the Parisians led at various times by 1-0 and 2-1, before pressing home their advantage with three more goals in the final 16 minutes after Chelsea had drawn level. Liam Rosenior’s side, like City, will feel that an early goal in the return could make things interesting, but this looks like the end of the road for both.
It was a well and truly abysmal week for English sides in the Champions League. Liverpool and Arsenal will still feel they should advance, while it would not be a huge surprise if one of the other three sides were to produce a surprise. Even so, it is a chastening reminder that while the Premier League is clearly the richest in the world, its claims to being the best are far less certain.