Euro Bite Review No.2: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of British Teams in Europe

Kate Partridge looks back over a mixed Match Week Two for British teams in Europe and looks at how the home nations' clubs can once again produce continental champions. In Week One of this season’s European competitions, the overall report on the British clubs, apart from the Merseyside duo, was: “Could do better.” In Match Week Two, the verdict was: “Slightly better.” Apart from the Merseysiders. And Tottenham. And Premier League champions Manchester City.

Four seasons ago, three English teams reached the Champions League quarter-finals, with one progressing to the semi-finals and then the final. Over the past three seasons, England has provided only three quarter-finalists, with Chelsea winning the trophy in 2012. The influence of the English has declined.

In contrast, Germany and Spain have triumphed – domestically and internationally. Two seasons ago, Bayern Munich won their all-German final against Borussia Dortmund. Last year, it was all-Spanish, even a Madrid derby, as Real beat Atletico.

The English teams, rich on private investment, sponsorship deals and lucrative TV contracts, are also having to adjust to financial fair play, while Real and Barca have forked out record respective sums for megastars such as Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez. And the German model of prudence, investment and first-class academies has produced a golden generation for both clubs and country.

In England, it’s all change. Manchester United have lost Sir Alex Ferguson and European football. Liverpool are back among Europe’s elite but with a Euro-rookie manager. City are still Champions League tyros. Arsenal are emerging from an extended period of post-new-stadium thrift, and Jose Mourinho is finally in charge of a Chelsea team that is more his choice than his inheritance.

Consequently, the mixed results may be due to three factors: adjustment to new players and new circumstances; relative European inexperience; and the all-important ingredient of confidence. And these obviously affect managers as well as players, along with fans’ expectations.

In their first match, Liverpool had to rely on a late Steven Gerrard penalty to edge debutants Ludogorets at Anfield. They were still adapting to life without Luis Suarez, and Daniel Sturridge was injured. The recent 1-1 derby draw with Everton left the Reds 14^th in the Premier League, with two wins from six games, and a goal difference of minus one, with set pieces a clear Achilles heel.

The mentality of “you score four, we’ll score five” that almost propelled Brendan Rodgers’ team to the title last season is no longer working as they can’t score five. They struggle to score full stop. It’s also a mindset that does not succeed in Europe, where defences are normally as watertight as a mermaid’s brassiere.

Burgeoning giant slayers Basel exploited this weakness. Marco Streller’s 52^nd-minute goal following a corner was enough to hand Paulo Sousa’s side victory, and add another illustrious scalp to those of Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich for the Swiss side.

Worse for the deflated Reds, there follows home and away encounters with champions Real Madrid. A Premier League win over West Brom and an international break prior to those ties could be fundamental in boosting positive thinking, and allowing Sturridge to fully recover from his thigh problem.

Manchester City need confidence, experience – and to click. Bayern Munich’s second win from two, a 1-0 squeeze past CSKA, has put Pep Guardiola’s men on course to win Group E. City’s 1-1 draw with Roma, after 38-year-old Francesco Totti’s equaliser, left them third, and with an Eiger to climb.

City probably have the toughest group, but also have a manager who’s reached the semi-finals, plus a substantial squad, including players like Frank Lampard, who’s won both European trophies. Despite a slow league start, which has seen City take 11 points from a potetial 18, negotiating the group stages seems more of a psychological barrier than a tactical one.

In contrast, Danny Welbeck is evolving into the striker he was born to be. The 23-year-old showed maturity and composure in producing his first professional hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-1 Group D romp over Galatasaray. He was so delighted he forgot to pick up the match ball. Perhaps he had been distracted by the flares some visiting fans threw onto the pitch; UEFA are investigating.

Despite having ‘keeper Wojciech Szczesny sent off and conceding a penalty with half an hour left, victory was a fait accompli – and Arsene Wenger could celebrate his 18^th anniversary at the Gunners, buoyed by the prospect of reaching the knock-out stages for the fifteenth straight year. It was also a timely boost ahead of the Premier League trip to Chelsea.

The Special One’s side are currently proving you can have it all. Top in England and top of Group G. Nemanja Matic’s fine looping first-half header from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick was sufficient to seal a 1-0 win at Sporting.

The victory was also Mourinho’s first in Portugal since leaving Porto a decade ago. Fortunately, Schalke were also held 1-1 by Maribor, and Diego Costa’s fragile hamstring survived to torment another opponent.

In the Europa League, Celtic led the British charge with a 1-0 victory over Dynamo Zagreb. Kris Commons returned from injury to nab a sixth-minute opener, which was enough to take the Hoops top of Group D on goal difference.

But their English counterparts were less convincing. Mauricio Pochettino made a sweeping ten changes to his Tottenham side that drew 1-1 at Arsenal for the Group C match at home to Besiktas.

The coach saved only the goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. It was as well he did. Despite Harry Kane opening after 27 minutes, the France star produced three superb saves to keep out Slaven Bilic’s men.

But he couldn’t prevent Vlad Chiriches being nutmegged and inexplicably handling the ball with a minute to go. Nemesis Demba Ba converted his fifth goal in six appearances against Spurs from the penalty spot, and denied the hosts an undeserved first win in Group C.

In contrast, Everton snatched a highly unlikely 1-1 draw at Krasnodar. Aiden McGeady and Samuel Eto’o were back in Russia after respective spells at Spartak and Anzhi. Perhaps the experience told, or they took inspiration from Phil Jagielka’s stoppage-time wonder strike that had halved the honours in the derby at Anfield.

Eighty-two minutes into a poor Toffees’ display, Eto’o shinned home to cancel out Ari’s first-half strike. The small posse of Russian Everton fans – converts from the heady days of Andrei Kanchelskis – cheered along with their English counterparts. The vital point from drawing ugly also put Roberto Martinez’s unbeaten side top of Group H, after Wolfsburg drew 1-1 with Lille.

So, after two rollercoaster rounds of European competition, the key to success seems to be to analyse, to adapt, and to believe. The British teams now have three weeks to get their own theories right.

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