Four English teams out in 24 hours - what just happened and why?

Arsenal and Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals, while Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham were all eliminated across two legs, the first time four sides from a single nation have exited at the last-16 stage.

“It was not long ago that fans and pundits were admiring the power of the Premier League”

BBC

City were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Real Madrid, Chelsea were knocked out 8-2 on aggregate by Paris St-Germain, Newcastle fell 8-3 on aggregate to Barcelona, and Tottenham lost 7-5 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid.

BBC

The six English teams reached knockout phase with five finishing inside the top eight in the league phase, earning automatic progression to the last 16, with Newcastle booking their place after coming through the play-offs.

Several of Europe’s heavyweights finished outside the top eight and therefore faced the lottery of the play-offs, but across two legs the higher-seeded sides generally prevailed, contributing to the difficult path for the English clubs.

BBC

Managers blamed fatigue and the packed schedule as a major factor behind the results.

“It was not long ago that fans and pundits were admiring the power of the Premier League”

BBC

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior said his side were tired after 'over 100 games in 18 months with no break' due to domestic and international demands.

Pep Guardiola has long lamented the schedule, calling it a 'disaster' and even cancelling training before City’s second leg against Real Madrid.

Jurgen Klopp also called for change, while his successor Arne Slot said the lack of a winter break in England is 'not helpful'.

Analysts point to deeper structural factors behind the results, including the Premier League’s demanding schedule and a shift toward more direct play, set-pieces and long throws.

Opta data show after 210 Premier League matches this season the average passes per game is 873.3, the lowest since 2012-13, and 166 of the 587 goals (28.3%) have come from set-pieces or throw-ins, while the long-throw count averages 3.97 per game.

BBC

Umir Irfan argues that Premier League games are tiring and that rotation is costly for managers, while Andros Townsend notes that in the Champions League teams rely on counter-attacks and can punish mistakes more severely than in the Premier League.

The article also contrasts English squad rotation with Real Madrid’s approach of using 32 players in La Liga and points out that having more English teams in the last-16 does not guarantee European success; two English sides have reached the last eight in four of the past ten seasons, and in three other seasons just one did.