Can the Premier League end LaLiga's dominance in the Champions League?

Since the turn of the millennium the Champions League has been well and truly dominated by Spanish sides. Nine of the last eighteen Champions League winners have come from Spain. The leagues that come next, Serie A and the Premier League, only have three victories each over that same time period.

LaLiga’s grip on the Champions League has even strengthened in the last four years. Real Madrid have won three of those with their arch rivals Barcelona claiming the other. And in two of them Atletico Madrid were runners up. Like Floyd Mayweather, LaLiga appear to have no challenger capable of putting up a fight.

Are English teams finally fulfilling their potential in the Champions League?

Yet there’s new found confidence coming from the Premier League’s five representatives. This is the first time a country has had five teams reach the knockout stages of the competition, and four of those made it through as group leaders. Chelsea, the sole side to finish second, only did so due to a poor head-to-head record against Roma.

In three of those groups, English sides finished ahead of their Spanish counterparts. The most impressive being Tottenham, who claimed four points off the reigning champions Real Madrid. This saw them finish three points ahead of the Spanish giants, the same margin Liverpool enjoyed over Sevilla. We’ll get to Atletico Madrid later.

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And while it’s true that nothing is truly won or lost during the group stage, it can serve as motivation to build a team’s confidence. Liverpool and Sevilla are in similar positions in their respective leagues but both lack recent success stories in Europe’s premier competition. For Spurs, no one gave them hope of matching, let alone beating, Real Madrid. For a young side which has fallen at the final hurdle so much, this could be the catalyst to kick-start a period of greater success.

LaLiga has already lost one big team..

As for Spanish teams, they’ve already lost twice beaten finalists Atletico Madrid. In a tough group alongside Roma and Chelsea, it was their failure to beat Qarabag in either game which proved costly. Plus an early disappointing loss at the Wanda Metropolitano to Chelsea didn’t help matters either. Essentially, they weren’t up to scratch.

So the Premier League wins purely in the numbers game, five to three. And all three Spanish sides have been handed tough draws. I know it’s clichéd to say ‘there are no easy games at this stage’ but that’s not entirely true.

.. and tough draws for the remaining three

Barcelona would’ve preferred drawing Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk or Porto. Instead they got reigning Premier League champions Chelsea. For Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain were arguably the toughest team available to them. Besiktas or Roma would’ve been much more favourable. The same can be said for Sevilla who got Manchester United.

And there’s a bit of a fear factor in Spain, even if no one really wants to admit it. Real Madrid are currently in the UAE looking to lift the Club World Cup but PSG will be a tough test. Zinedine Zidane’s side are yet to really get going domestically this season so the Champions League might be their best bet for a big title.

Their opponents, PSG, are also desperate to leave their mark on Europe. It’s absolutely necessary if they are to establish themselves amongst the elite on merit, not purely because of the size of their back account.

Could Real Madrid run out of steam?

Joaquin Maroto, who works for AS, still sees Madrid as favourites but concedes the tough tie could have lasting after-effects. “Both teams will need to make a huge effort, mentally and physically, to knock the other one out. And that could leave its mark on the victors beyond the Last 16.”

Eduardo Alvarez, who covers Real Madrid and LaLiga, says that it is a tough draw but feels Madrid are finding form and should enter the games stronger than when they started the competition. “The characteristics of PSG’s offensive trio will give Zidane’s back four plenty of work.” There’s also the Neymar factor to consider. “He wants to prove that his move to Paris was the right one for his career.” What better way to do that than by knocking out Real Madrid?

And in the other two fixtures for Spanish sides they come face to face with English opposition again.

LaLiga vs Premier League

Chelsea and Barcelona have a lot of history in the competition. From the controversial Andres Iniesta winner at Stamford Bridge to the ultimate park the bus revenge victory at the Camp Nou. There isn’t bad blood, more begrudging respect, but these are two sides who play completely different styles of football.

It’ll be interesting to see how both teams approach it. Barcelona are likely to have Ousmane Dembele back to full fitness, plus Luis Suarez’s form can only improve at this stage. They’ll be confident of getting a good result in England before seeing off the tie in Spain. Surely Lionel Messi will end his scoring duck against Chelsea at the 9th – and 10th – attempt?

Sevilla have the most favourable draw of the Spanish teams but won’t go into the matches with United as favourites. It was a very hit and miss campaign for them in qualifying for this stage. They lost 5-1 to Spartak Moscow but went unbeaten against group leaders Liverpool.

You sense this will be a season of consolidation for Sevilla so expectations aren’t too high. However if they are underestimated they can cause any team problems. Just ask Liverpool.

No LaLiga side in the quarter finals?

There’s distinct possibility that LaLiga won’t have any representatives in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. When was the last time that happened? And I think if those two-legged ties were to take place now then the odds of a LaLiga exodus would be higher. However, with nearly two months to regain form and key players, February could prove to be a completely different situation.

Could this be the end of LaLiga’s dominance in Europe and the start of the Premier League’s revival? Maybe, but it’s wise to walk before you can run. Experience is important in these clutch games and more so when you’ve got a habit of winning. For the Premier League’s teams the battle is as much mental as it is physical.

However one thing is saying times are changing and another is following through with that threat. As mentioned before, nothing is won or lost after the group stage. If all the Premier League sides crash out in this round or the next, no one will remember the impressive qualifying phase. That’s the cutthroat nature of football.

Any team can win the Champions League once but consistency is the key

And if the worst came to the worst and all of LaLiga’s representatives were out of the competition by the end February, it’s hard to proclaim a new era of dominance either. Leicester City’s title triumph didn’t kickstart their rule at the top. Nor did Atletico’s LaLiga triumph. Any team, or league, can win the competition once in a blue moon. To sustain that over a long period of time is a lot more challenging.

The one advantage I feel Spanish teams have over their rivals is not underestimating their opponents. It’s all about winning and to do that you need to respect your opponents but also believe in your own ability. Sometimes, and English sides in particular are guilty of this, there is a lack of respect both to the competition and the opponent. There’s a perception that by merely turning up victory is assured.

For the first time in a while, the Champions League feels fresh and revitalised. We aren’t just seeing the same fixtures over and over again. It’s good for the competition as a whole that other teams, and leagues, look to unsettle the status quo. But don’t expect the LaLiga sides to give up their crown without a fight.