English clubs have been shining in this season’s UEFA Champions League, backed by their impressive financial power, as six English teams occupy top positions halfway through the group stage of the 36-team tournament.
This week, for the second time in four match rounds, five English Premier League clubs won their games—a feat never accomplished by any country in a single week before this season.
Four of these six teams are in the top eight positions that qualify directly for the round of 16, while all six rank within the top 12. Out of 24 matches played, 17 ended in victory, and the teams suffered only three losses.
Arsenal, the only club yet to concede a goal, holds second place with 12 points, just behind Bayern Munich on goal difference.
Manchester City moved up to fourth after a 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, and Liverpool won 1-0 against Real Madrid on Tuesday, climbing to eighth, two places behind Newcastle United, which secured its third consecutive win after an opening loss to Barcelona.
Tottenham Hotspur, unbeaten so far in the competition, sits tenth following a crushing 4-0 win over Danish side Copenhagen, highlighted by a goal from Micky van de Ven, already a contender for the “best goal of the season.”
Chelsea occupies 12th place after a surprising 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan’s Qarabag on Wednesday. However, both London teams appear well-positioned at least to reach the playoff round if they finish outside the top eight.
All six English clubs reaching the round of 16 would be unprecedented, breaking the record set in 2017 when Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester City all qualified for the knockout stage. That occasion marked the first time five clubs from one country reached this phase of the Champions League.
Although impressive, some argue that the Premier League’s dominance in Europe’s biggest club tournament is inevitable.
This summer’s transfer window closed with total spending by Premier League clubs exceeding £3 billion ($4.03 billion) for the first time, more than the combined spending of Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 clubs.
With clubs from the same national associations kept apart in the group stage (which ends in January), the six English teams might have benefited from this arrangement.
Once the knockout stage begins, they could face each other, but if all finish in the top eight, they will avoid facing each other in the round of 16.
There is also the fact that English clubs’ dominance in two-legged ties is less clear, as shown last season when Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal on their way to the title, and Manchester City lost in the round of 16 playoffs to Real Madrid.
Only three English teams have won the tournament in the last 13 editions despite their financial superiority, with Spain leading with seven titles. Based on last season, group stage performance is not necessarily indicative of success in knockout rounds.
Last season, Liverpool topped their group but fell to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, while PSG nearly faced early elimination before regrouping to win their last three group games, finishing 15th and qualifying for playoffs.
Many big European teams will need a resurgence like PSG’s to qualify for the knockout stages this season.
