Is the Premier League the greatest in the world? The Champions League is the place to prove it, and unfortunately this season all four English sides have fallen to their European counterparts. In the past 3 Champions League seasons the Premier League has had 3 of the 4 semi finalists, proof indeed of the dominance it held over UEFA's premium competition. This season they have all fallen short, with none of the top four being able to reach the semi finals.
It is the first time that has happened in seven years. You have to go back to the 2002-03 season when Italy dominated with eventual winners AC Milan along with Juventus and Internazionale and Real Madrid all made the semis, that was the last time England failed to have a representative at the semi-final stage. Could the Premier League, much like Serie A has done since that season, be falling from grace in the Champions League?
Manchester United's first ever success over Bayern Munich on their home turf last night should have been the catalyst for rapturous victory scenes as they finally slayed their Bavarian foes but instead a muted Old Trafford was left with the sight of a bouncing Bayern squad celebrating a 3-2 defeat, as it put the Bundesliga side through to the final four on away goals.
It started so brightly for United, as Darron Gibson and a double from the impressive Nani put them 3-0 in front on the night and 4-2 up on aggregate. Old Trafford was awash with noise, almost unrecognisable from the dour sight of the 2-1 loss to Chelsea the previous weekend. Even with a seemingly incapacitated Wayne Rooney on the pitch, Manchester United were so incessant it seemed a similar night to the 7-1 thrashing of Roma was on the cards.
Bayern Munich, who started the match with a positive 4-4-2 formation seemed to have no answer as their full backs Lahm and Badstuber were terrorised by the wing play of both Valencia and Nani, the latter whose expulsion to the subs bench against Chelsea seems inexplicable when you realise the lack of movement from Berbatov, but that is for another day.
Just as the half time whistle was looming and the United fans were ready to applaud their team for an extraordinary effort and brilliant attacking display, Olic out muscled Carrick in an aerial battle and from an improbable angle fired across Van Der Sar and in to the net. With that goal, Bayern only needed another to go through and Old Trafford knew it. Where it seconds earlier was abuzz with excitement and pride it soon became awash with silence and nervous energy.
The game was on a knife edge and Bayern who had kick off, seemed a different side as they immediately began the second half showing the sort of movement and ball retention which just wasn't there in the first half. It seemed they were first to every ball and going for the jugular. Manchester United on the other hand, having just played such an intense 45 minutes seemed sluggish and unable to step up a gear as they had already been in 5th from the very 1st minute and only now was there signs that maybe they were running out of gas.
Ribery was becoming more of a threat as Bayern were controlling the game passing from left to right and right to left with Robben and Ribery the beneficiaries. It was the French winger who was at the heart of the turning point in the game, as his darting run forward was stopped by Rafael with not one but two tugs on his shirt. After the now ubiquitous surrounding of the referee Rafael was booked for the second time in the game and sent off with 35 minutes still remaining.
The 'winning' away goal came in sublime fashion as a Ribery corner was volleyed home by Robben for what German tabloid Bild described as "A beautiful loss." Robben was a menace to Patrice Evra all second half and in what was already Evra's 43rd game of the season he epitomised the performance of United in the second half. They looked drained. For a full back of his ilk, where his game is essentially a 90 minute bleep test up and down the left flank, it is easy to see how Robben, who has played little over half the games Evra has this season was able to make Evra look ordinary, because ordinary he certainly isn't. Even the winning goal at the Allianz Arena in the dying moments of the first leg showed a mental fatigue as Evra couldn't sort his feet out in what should have been routine.
Sir Alex Ferguson made substitutions in an attempt to score the goal which would tip the tie in their direction, but what became all to obvious was that the pace and fitness needed to regain control of the game was not going to come from the players left on the pitch. The sight of Mike Phelan and Sir Alex in the technical area gesturing and expressing disdain for what they were seeing was telling. By the end though Sir Alex was resigned to his usual seat in the stands, showing even his successful blend of inspiration and intimidation was unable to resurrect a performance from his players.
The infamous Manchester United injury time deluge never transpired, even against the team who suffered so historically from it back in 1999. Munich kept the ball away from their own goal through passages of play that were designed more to see out time than to add to their goal tally.
So, have the English sides been found out in European competition?
Chelsea were outfoxed by their former manager Jose Mourinho, who claimed he didn't need to do any homework on the Blues as they have not changed their squad or style since he left them 3 years ago. A look at their squad shows that the 'Special One' may have a case. Some 12 first team players who Jose managed at Chelsea are still at the club. It seems only the person who builds an empire, truly knows how to destroy it. Chelsea need an overhaul of their squad, as an ageing squad and a lack of youth development shows.
Liverpool truly under performed this season for the players they had at their disposal, and Lyon profited from their eagerness to self destruct with a win and a draw against Rafa Benitez's side. Last season, Liverpool were duly noted for their fitness and late goals in European competition but this season they seem to have suffered from an inferiority complex by consistently conceding late goals, as they did to the French side both at Anfield and the Stade de Gerland.
Arsenal this season were knocked out by the side that on footballing terms have set the benchmark for what football truly can be, Barcelona. Admittedly, a huge injury list hindered their attempt to knock out the current champions but what cannot be argued is that they were 'out-Arsenaled' by the Catalan giants. What surprised me most was the refusal to play a long ball to Bendtner and pack the box. Wenger would have to have swallowed some pride in using this tactic, by disregarding his pure football mantra, but after watching Arsenal trying to play the ball out of defence and lose the ball in midfield over and over and over again I found myself shouting at the television to use the unpredictable Dane with a bit of hustle and bustle. Then they could see what comes of the knock downs, and possibly profit from the second ball.
An argument could be made that all four sides were worse off at the start of this season than they were a year previous, Manchester United lost goals and work rate in Tevez and Ronaldo, Chelsea lost the much loved Hiddink, Liverpool lost the playmaker Alonso and Arsenal lost Adebayor and Toure. Surprisingly, not one of the clubs responded with a spending spree to rival a WAG on a footballers payday in Harrods.
The stranglehold has become more of a sleeper-hold from the English clubs on the Champions League, their opponents have figured a way to battle and mount offence of their own leaving them without their gold. However, like Triple H has reverted back to type with the use of his sledgehammer in a quest for what he once had, I fully expect this coming season to see a return of the tactic that got the English sides their dominance over Europe in the first place...
Dirty cash, and lots of it.
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