English clubs look to bounce back post underwhelming start
The Premier League has provided six of the last 10 Champions League finalists and its clubs were by far the biggest spenders in the summer transfer window, strengthening their already-deep squads and weakening some of their European rivals in the process.
No wonder many were anticipating English domination of the Champions League this season. It’s not happened.
Ater two rounds of the group stage, it has been an underwhelming start by the English teams, with three of the four having already lost a game and far from sure of advancing to the round of 16. Chelsea is in the most trouble.
Ater a loss at Dinamo Zagreb in Group E and only a draw at home to Salzburg, Chelsea heads into a tough double-header against Italian champion AC Milan in a sticky spot and with a new coach still trying to work out his best lineup and formation.
Graham Poter only took charge last month ater the firing of Thomas Tuchel, hardly an ideal situation for a team nearing midway through a Champions League group-stage campaign.
Then there’s Totenham, which only beat 10man Marseille in Group D thanks to two late goals from Richarlison and was then way below par in a surprise loss at Portuguese team Sporting.
Spurs now have two matches against Eintracht Frankfurt, starting in Germany on Tuesday. It goes into the game ater a 3-1 defeat in the north London derby at Arsenal.
Barcelona, isn’t in such good shape ater losing to Bayern Munich last time out. Barca visits Inter Milan on Tuesday in a match that could help decide the second-place qualifier in Group C, with both teams on three points, three behind Bayern.
Ominously for visiting Plzei on Tuesday, Bayern Munich has ended talk of a crisis and got back to its traditional dominance in the Bundesliga with a 4-0 rout of Bayer Leverkusen.
The Bavarian powerhouse traditionally endures a mini-slump early in the season before returning to old strengths for the rest, and it appears to be Plzei’s misfortune that Julian Nagelsmann’s team seems to have shaken off its insecurities for the return of Europe’s premier club competition.
Bayern’s players usually up their performances in the Champions League, too. The only worry for Nagelsmann will be the likely absence of influential players Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich. Both tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
Marseille thrashed Angers 3-0 on Friday to remain second in the French league. Striker Alexis Sanchez was rested as he stayed on the bench ater playing two full matches for Chile during the international break. Defender Sead Kolasinac is doubful for Tuesday’s game. Marseille is still unbeaten in the French league but its defensive frailties have been exposed in the more competitive Champions League.
Liverpool, meanwhile, opened with a chastening 4-1 loss at Napoli in Group A and might have been in a similarly tough position as Chelsea if it wasn’t for a last-minute goal by Joel Matip to beat Ajax 2-1.
Now, there’s a sense of optimism around the Reds’ European hopes, especially given two straight games against last-place Rangers, starting Tuesday.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says even Ronaldo and Messi are not immune from confidence issues as he seeks to find a solution to his side’s frustrating inconsistency.
Saturday’s 3-3 draw at home to Brighton, ater recovering from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, was an example of the wider malaise affecting the team.
Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League ater just two wins from seven matches and are already 11 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Klopp is staying patient but knows Tuesday’s Champions League tie at home to Rangers has become a key game, with Liverpool having already lost once in Group A.
“People can ask how could it happen that these players are not full of confidence,” said the German. “Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo (reduced to a substitute role at Manchester United) at this moment is top of his confidence levels?
“He was for ages the best player in the world and now it is not going his way and it is not exactly the same. That happens to all of us.
“Lionel Messi played last season (his first at Paris Saint-germain) where it was not exactly the same because these kind of things are really important to all of us and you have to work for it.”
Poter only took charge last month ater the firing of Thomas Tuchel, hardly an ideal situation for a team nearing midway through a Champions League group-stage campaign