The UEFA Champions League draw for the round of 16 was completed this morning. Coming into the proceedings, there were many questions as to the fate of England’s teams in the competition. After the draw, it can only be said that it will be a tough ask for the world’s most popular league to put multiple teams through to the quarterfinals.
The English Premier League has taken much warranted guff over the past few years for their lack of success in Europe. Last year all four participants were eliminated before the quarterfinals for the second time in three years. All three that advanced from the group stage (Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City) will get a second crack at putting that embarrassment behind them this year. For the two London clubs, that opportunity comes at a substantial price.
Arsenal had to work some magic to advance in the Champions League. Despite losing their first three group stage games, the Gunners recovered and finished second to Bayern Munich in Group F. Arsenal have been in fine form since that three game horror show. Olivier Giroud and company went to the Greek champions Olympiacos needing to win by two clear goals to advance. The Frenchman got a hat trick by himself and Petr Cech kept an impressive clean sheet. Arsenal also are top of the table in the Premier League. Mesut Ozil has become a figurehead for the club as he’s kept the midfield afloat as injuries have mounted. But while everything seemed sunny in North London, the Champions League draw brought some Blaugrana tinted clouds.
Barcelona is Arsenal’s opponent in the first round of knockout games in the Champions League. Manager Arsene Wenger is no stranger to getting the short end of the stick in this round. They had their “easiest” draw last year in Monaco, and lost. Before that, it was two straight years of Bayern Munich (’12-’13,’13-’14), before that AC Milan (’11-’12), and Barca (’10-’11). You have to go all the way back to 2009-10 for the last time Arsenal advanced past this round. They defeated FC Porto only to get drawn with, you guessed it, Barcelona in the quarterfinals.
With the next round not starting until February, Arsenal get plenty of time to heal. Returns for Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be vital to their cause. Also, they will be on a level playing field with Barcelona for the first time in a long time. As the European Championships approach next summer, La Liga has temporarily done away with the league’s winter break. Normally England is the only country who plays through the doldrums of early January. This has been viewed by some as a reason for their recent failures in the Champions League. But while the task at hand may still be daunting, at least Arsenal knows they aren’t facing a team who received two weeks R & R while they were eating slide tackles in zero degree weather.
With their league form hitting critical mass, Chelsea needed a lifeline from the Champions League draw. Instead they will have their European progress in the hands of French champions Paris Saint-Germain for the third straight season. The Blues bested the Parisians in the quarters in 2013-14 only to lose to eventual runners-up Atletico Madrid the next month. Last year saw Jose Mourinho’s men choke away their Round of 16 second leg in extra time and going out on away goals. But those two years saw them coming into the games as at least co-leaders in the Premier League table. They are currently 15th in this year’s table, just three points above the drop.
They’ll have to navigate a tough tie without Jose Mourinho. Losses to Bournemouth and Leicester City in consecutive matchweeks have significantly lessened the joy around their advancement to the UCL knockout round. The draw of PSG has dampened it even further. In the end, The Special One fell on the sword of the team’s failures.
But with the top four aspirations all but faded, and the Europa League no longer a fallback, Chelsea must shift their focus to survival and advancement in the Champions League. The straits weren’t as dire in 2011-12, but Chelsea have saved themselves before. Under Roberto di Matteo, they beat AC Milan, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich all in a row to win their first Champions League. They finished sixth in the league table that year, making their title the only thing keeping them in the competition the following year.
The even more puzzling thing about Chelsea’s struggles is that they are a relatively healthy outfit as a whole. Thibaut Courtois is back in goal. The back four is free of knocks. But then when you get up front, it gets a bit dicey. Reigning PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard’s fate after an injury against Leicester is still foggy. Diego Costa is limping around at the apex of Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Radamel Falcao has played roughly 10 important minutes for the Blues all season. But even with these aches and ailments in plain view, fully fit Pedro and Loic Remy find it difficult to get any regular run. The Blues have shown before that they can beat the odds. But to keep themselves in Europe next year, they’ll need to radically change their philosophy. Who will be the man to do that? It probably won’t be Pep Guardiola or Carlo Ancelotti, the two names at the top of Roman Abramovich’s managerial Christmas list.
So with their two EPL compatriots looking by all accounts dead in the water, the onus falls on Manchester City to keep England’s Champions League dream alive. That would mean that the Citizens would have to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time ever. City in the past two years have had similar luck to Arsenal in the draw. Two consecutive Round of 16 dates with Barcelona saw the Sky Blues eliminated with little resistance. But unlike Arsenal with Monaco last season, Man City won’t make the mistake of overlooking Dynamo Kiev.
More money keeps funneling into the Premier League each year. The influx will be at its highest next year with their massive new television contract. But with that increase in funds comes an increase in expectations. And across Europe, those increased expectations revolve around the Champions League. England’s top flight got a cold-blooded draw from the footballing gods for February. They better warm up real quick though or their UEFA coefficient will make it a yearly race for the top 3 instead of 4.