Has the Premier League Declined?
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
Long throws? Competitive league play? Physicality favored over individual game-changing skill? These are just some of the reasons given for the Premier League’s abysmal showing in the Champions League knockout phase.
Strong results in the league phase of the competition were followed by humiliating defeats for Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Tottenham. Liverpool lost to Galatasaray in the first leg before fighting back and Arsenal underwhelmed against Bayer Leverkusen.
The 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons produced only one Premier League semi-finalist in Europe’s premier competition. Two of the Premier League teams in last year’s competition failed to reach the quarters.
An all-English Europa League final in 2025 and two Premier League wins in the last three editions of the Conference League reflect the league’s continued strength in depth. At the truly elite level, though, Premier League clubs have not just fallen short; they have been thoroughly outplayed.
This isn’t the first quieter spell for the Premier League. Between 2013 and 2017, only two English clubs reached the Champions League semis. Even in that period, however, the defeats were not as humbling as the hammerings handed out to City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Spurs.
No Longer the Elite
Before these results, the Premier League subjectively felt weaker than in previous years. The exceptional standards of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp orchestrating back-and-forth title races are a thing of the past. City are a long way from their peak, and Liverpool have taken a step back after Arne Slot won the title in his first season.
Chelsea are in a period of perennial transition. Spurs are at threat of relegation once again. Manchester United have found form of late, but they are far from a juggernaut. Newcastle have regressed and look little more than a mid-table team with upside.
PSG accounted for three of the four Premier League teams in last season’s Champions League, with City falling to Real Madrid. There’s no shame in that, but perhaps encounters with Luis Enrique’s dominant Parisiens covered up a wider trend.
Fatigue Only Excuses So Much
The fatigue excuse has been trotted out in familiar fashion. It’s the oft-used justification when England fail to win a tournament or Premier League teams are outplayed in continental competition.
Yes, the Premier League’s mid-table and bottom-half sides are stronger and wealthier than their peers in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, but that does not explain away two seasons of severely underwhelming Champions League performances and results.
It didn’t stop the teams succeeding in the league phase when the riches of the Premier League’s top clubs means they can flex the muscle of their squad over inferior opponents. When it comes to the best against the best, though, English clubs are falling very short.
Stylistic Changes
Premier League teams got tricky draws in the round of 16. That’s a factor worth remembering, just as a brilliant PSG team knocked out Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Arsenal 12 months ago.
The demands of English football do stretch squads further. Burnley, according to Opta, are a trickier opponent than almost half of La Liga. English teams in the Champions League have played more minutes than their opponents so far this season.
Still, it would be naïve to ignore the changes to the way football has been played in England. Long throws are happening twice as often as in previous seasons, passes per match are at the lowest level in recent memory, and over a quarter of goals are scored from set pieces.
Premier League football has become even more skewed towards physicality. When the top teams face Europe’s best in the Champions League, they cannot simply overpower them. If they try to play a high-tempo press, they are simply picked off by superior technicians.
Decline is Unquestionable
Perhaps expectations were too high for the Premier League due to having six clubs in the quarters. It’s reasonable, though, for a league with such wealth to expect more.
Having two teams in the quarter finals isn’t a problem as such – in fact, it’s pretty much the norm – but the manner of the defeats in the round of 16 is. All four of the eliminated teams were miles off the standard required against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and PSG.
The Premier League is far from the force it was earlier in the decade. There’s no guarantee that will be change before next season’s knockout phase if the trend of set-piece reliance and force over technique persists.
