The biggest English clubs all have one goal in terms of cup competitions which is to win the UEFA Champions League, something that none of the English clubs have done since the 2011-12 season when Chelsea won it. In fact, in the next 3 instalments of the competition, the best any English club has done is reach the semi-final stage, which Chelsea did a couple of seasons ago where they ended up losing to Atletico Madrid.
England has always boasted about the league being the strongest and has always spent a lot of money to get players into the Premier League. If we are to look at Premier League spending, it easily dwarfs the spending of the Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga. The four clubs which represent England this season might be thinking of getting their hands on ‘Big ears’ but do they really have a chance?
A Blue bolt of lightning is surprisingly their best bet
Going on current form and squad strength, the best chance of any English club of doing well in the competition is from Manchester City. The Citizens have bulldozed their way to the top of the Premier League and in their current form, they seem unstoppable. The fact that they recently signed the Bundesliga’s best attacker in Kevin De Bruyne is testament to the ability of the club to get the top players and its financial strength.
However, Manchester City haven’t set the Champions League on fire whenever they have played in the competition. In the last four seasons when they have made it into the group stages, they have only made it to the round of 16 twice and the other two times they have been knocked out in the group stages.
The lack of experience might not help but Pelligrini and the club have been through this feeling quite often and this season could be their chance of getting something done, they might not win the Champions League but a good, long run in the competition is the best thing they can hope for.
As for the other pretenders for the crown, they have much bigger issues to worry about. Neither Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United have made the best of starts to the league and they all seem a little weaker than last season, especially the likes of Chelsea, who seem to be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hype persona between this league campaign and the last one.
Arsenal might have gotten a solid goalkeeper but their problems in goal scoring continue and they seem to rely a lot on Alexis Sanchez, which isn’t the best thing and no one really knows what Manchester United really have under their bonnet. The Red Devils have a big squad to dig into but they just don’t seem to exude the confidence and ability that they were once known for, probably all three clubs would be happy just to make it out of the groups stages at the moment.
England might have four of their best representatives in the competition but it is going to need a minor miracle for any one of the four clubs to win the Champions League this season.
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