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The glory years of English football on the international stage ended a long time ago. In the UEFA Champions League, English clubs are beginning to struggle very badly. On Tuesday night, there was heartbreak for two of the biggest club teams in the world, Manchester United and Manchester City. While United went down 1-2 to PSV Eindhoven, City had the same scoreline vs last season's runners-up, Juventus.
While the losses haven't really dented the chances of either team too badly just yet, the signs are worrying. After all, at the end of it all, both United and City were given a serious reality check, with one commentator summing it up very well, when he said, "Louis Van Gaal's team are in real trouble on Matchday 1."
Van Gaal later admitted, "We can only blame ourselves."
City manager Manuel Pellegrini meanwhile said, "I think that when we have chances, we must score because it's a Champions League game and the difference between the teams is very slight." Pellegrini might not have got his strategies right on Tuesday night, but he did sum up the tournament well.
The UEFA Champions League after all, is the biggest club competition in the world and English teams seem to be lagging behind a fair bit. A quick look at how the English teams performed last season (2014-15) itself proves that point. While Manchester United didn't even qualify for the tournament, City, Arsenal and Chelsea couldn't go beyond the round of 16, while Liverpool couldn't go past the group stages.
In fact, after the English teams' dismal performance last season, the debate over whether the English Premier League should be given 4 Champions League spots was re-ignited. The fourth spot is after all a privilege that the Premier League has been given since the 2001-02 season.
A comparison with other top countries shows just how poorly Premier League teams have been doing over the last 3 seasons. In fact, the English teams are behind the Spanish, the Germans and the Italians. No Premier League team has made the finals of the tournament since the 2011-12 season. There has also not been an English champion over the last 3 seasons, as compared to 2 for Spain and one for Germany. Incredibly, the Italians who are also ahead of the English, get one spot less than the English in the competition.
According to former England international Paul Parker, this trend is unlikely to change this season. Parker believes no English team will be able to challenge the top contenders for the title this season either.
Interestingly, English clubs have not always been so poor in the Champions League. The 2007-08 season is a case in point where two English teams, United and Chelsea, played the final. In fact, between the 2005-06 and 2011-12 seasons, there were as many as 8 Champions League finalists from England. That's 8 finalists in 7 seasons, compared to none in the last 3 seasons.
To keep the tournament fair, UEFA hands out Champions League spots depending on how a country has performed over the last 5 years. If things don't change quickly, the Premier League could well lose the fourth Champions League spot. In that context, the current season could well be a watershed season for the Premier League's Champions League future.