Effects of Pundit Hype: Premier League's European Disappointments

This season, eight teams from the Premier League qualified for Europe: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Liverpool, Brighton, and Aston Villa. Only Aston Villa managed to make it past the quarter-final stages in Europe. The first to get knocked out of Europe this season were Manchester United and Newcastle United, both from the UEFA Champions League. Both sides ended bottom of their group. Manchester United were in a group that had German champions, Bayern Munich; Turkish champions, Galatasaray; and Danish champions, FC Kobenhavn. Manchester United only managed one win from that group, lost four, and conceded 15 goals. A very disappointing performance from the three-time UEFA Champions League winners. This shows how Manchester United has fallen off. It was a historic return for Newcastle United as they qualified for the competition after 20 years, but they were hit with a surprise as they were put in Group F, known as the group of death, with French champions PSG, 1997 UEFA Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund, and seven-time UEFA Champions League winners AC Milan. Newcastle had only one win, two draws, and three losses, scored six goals, and conceded seven. Newcastle put up a great fight, but Eddie Howe and his boys were not ready to compete at the very top level of European football. Brighton qualified for the Europa League for the first time in the club's history, and it was a dream start for them as they topped a group that had European powerhouses like Marseille and Ajax. They ended the group with 13 points and qualified for the round of 16 directly, but lost 4-1 on aggregate to AS Roma in the round of 16. People expected more from Brighton given the performances they put in the Premier League against the big sides and Roberto De Zerbi.

Manchester City, Arsenal, West Ham, and Aston Villa all progressed to the Quarter Finals of their respective European football competitions. Manchester City topped their group with a rampaging performance, winning six out of six matches. They were in Group G, a group that had a rejuvenated German side RB Leipzig, Swiss champions Young Boys, and 1991 champions Red Star Belgrade. Manchester City scored 18 goals in six games, which is an average of three goals per game. They faced FC Kobenhavn in the round of 16 and put in another mind-blowing display, winning 6-2 on aggregate. At this point, Manchester City were looking unstoppable. They faced Real Madrid in the Quarter-final, and this was the end of their fairytale performances. In the first leg, they played 3-3 at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, setting up a nervy second leg at the Etihad Stadium. They played 1-1 during regular time, in which Real Madrid had to soak in pressure and defend compactly. The game went to extra time, and nothing could differentiate the two sides. It went to penalties, and Real Madrid won 4-3. It can be said that Manchester City fell to their biggest test because the other teams they played against in the competition don’t have the resources in terms of coaching, financial backing, and players that Manchester City have.

Arsenal qualified for the top flight of European football after six years, and most of their players were inexperienced and had never played in the competition in their lives. Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta was Arsenal’s former player and had played in the competition for Arsenal. When the group was announced, Arsenal was tipped to top their group, and they did just that. They were in the same group with Dutch side PSV, French side and Champions League debutants Lens, and the kings of the UEFA Europa League, Sevilla. Arsenal lost only one match in the group and recorded 13 points, not bad for a side that’s playing their first Champions League in six years. They faced Porto in the round of 16, and after placing 1-1 after both legs, the tie went to penalties. Arsenal managed to come out on top, winning 4-2. They faced Bayern Munich in the quarter-final, which proved to be their final bus stop. They played 2-2 in the first leg at Arsenal’s home, the Emirates Stadium, despite Arsenal having the majority of the fans in the stadium. Bayern Munich fans were not allowed in the stadium after Bayern fans threw fireworks on the pitch in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Lazio in the round of 16 2nd leg. Arsenal fell flat in the 2nd leg as Bayern Munich exacted their dominance at home, in Allianz Arena, and won via a goal to nil. Arsenal struggled to create clear-cut chances, and this showed how naive Arsenal is in big games. Mikel Arteta's "good playing football Arsenal side couldn’t beat the worst Bayern Munich side in years." This is what happens when the media plays your football for you and doesn’t allow you to see the reality of things.

West Ham United entered the UEFA Europa League after winning their first European title in 58 years, the UEFA Europa Conference League. They were in Group A, with German side SC Freiburg, Greek side Olympiacos, and Serbian side FK TSC Bačka Topola. West Ham were group winners with 15 points, scored ten goals, and had conceded only four goals. David Moyes' side was strong defensively. They faced SC Freiburg in the round of 16, a side they faced in the group stages and ran riot, winning via five goals to one on aggregate. In the quarter-final, they faced Bayer Leverkusen, and this proved to be a difficult task. Many believed before the game that West Ham had lost, as Bayer Leverkusen was the only unbeaten side in Europe and still remains the only unbeaten side as of when this article was written. West Ham gave it their all; they lost 2-0 away from home and drew at home. Many West Ham fans believe the referee, José María Sánchez Martínez, sold the game and should be investigated, but he was fair. Bayer Leverkusen was too superior for West Ham.

Lastly, the only Premier League side that progressed to the Semi Finals, Aston Villa, a side that’s rejuvenated under Spanish manager Unai Emery. Coming into this competition, Aston Villa had been without European football for 11 years and gained promotion in 2019 via the Championship Playoffs. Aston Villa started their European campaign in the UECL group stages with 13 points: four wins, one draw, and a loss. Their group comprised Polish side Legia Warsaw, a side that has been frequent in UEFA competitions in recent years, Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, and Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina side Zrinjski. Aston Villa were paired with four-time UEFA Champions League winners Ajax in the round of 16 and they recorded a statement win, winning 4-0 on aggregate. They faced Lille in the quarter-final, played 3-3 after both legs, and advanced to penalties. Dibu Martinez was the hero in the penalty shootout, saving two penalties. Dibu received his second yellow card during the shootout but was not sent off because the rule of the game doesn't allow a player to be sent off during a penalty shootout, and this rule needs to be looked into because the Lille fans felt they were cheated as Dibu Martinez was booing them throughout the game.

It is widely believed that the Premier League is the best league in the world, but their poor performance in European competitions this season says otherwise. As of the time this article was written, they are third behind Italy and Germany. These are leagues where football does the talking and pundits don’t sit hyping their players all day. The governing body of Italian Football, FIGC, deserves to be commended because of their side’s consistency in Europe for the last two seasons, getting to the UCL, UEL, and UECL Final last season, two UEFA Europa League semi-finalists this season, and a UECL Conference League semi-final this season. Achieving all this with a small budget is something commendable. Premier League clubs should do better by concentrating on playing good football, using their style of play, and not getting carried away by the media.