Six matches, two draws, four losses, conceding 16 goals! Champions League "Waterloo," Premier League suffers major retreat!

Written by Han Bing On the first matchday of the Champions League quarter-finals first leg, three Premier League teams had one draw and two losses without a win. In the second matchday held early this morning Beijing time, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea, which had been expected to perform better, similarly failed to salvage their pride. Joensen seemed possessed by Tottenham's Kinski, repeatedly giving away gifts, leading Chelsea to a 2-5 away defeat against Paris Saint-Germain; Guardiola, continuing his experimental tactics, led his team to a complete away defeat against Real Madrid, who were missing five stars including Mbappé and Rodrygo, with Valverde's hat-trick saving Aveloa from disaster; Arsenal, who had a perfect record in the Champions League group stage, relied on Havertz's strike against his former club to narrowly secure a 1-1 away draw against Leverkusen.

All six Premier League powerhouses remarkably entered the Champions League quarter-finals, but after the first leg, they only managed two draws and four losses without a single win, with a goal difference of 6-16. Following the matches, the latest Champions League odds saw Arsenal (3.5) unchanged, while Bayern Munich (4.33), Barcelona (7), Paris Saint-Germain (7.5), and Real Madrid (9)—the four major European giants—all improved. Liverpool (11) remained sixth, Manchester City (26) dropped from fourth to seventh, Newcastle United (41), Chelsea (101), and Tottenham (251) all declined from their previous joint eighth position (26).

The first-leg major retreat was dubbed by British media as the Premier League's "Champions League Waterloo," but Premier League fans hope this is merely a "Dunkirk retreat" before the counterattack in the second leg—at least Arsenal and Liverpool, returning to their home grounds, still retain considerable chances of advancing.

The frequent clashes between Manchester City and Real Madrid have long made Champions League fans feel weary, but Guardiola's ability to experiment still brings "surprises/shocks." Facing Real Madrid without five key players—Mbappé, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Alaba, and Militao—Guardiola deployed a 4114 formation aiming to overwhelm the opponent. However, Rodri alone in midfield no longer possesses his former prowess, and Manchester City lost control across the board.

Real Madrid, plagued by injuries, seemed to awaken their innate strength upon returning to the Champions League. Aveloa's defensive counterattack tactics were simple yet effective. Despite Mbappé being unavailable, Real Madrid surprisingly relied on Valverde to shoulder the scoring burden. Starting from the 20th minute in the first half, within just 22 minutes, the Uruguayan completed a hat-trick. This marked Guardiola's sixth career instance of trailing 0-3 at halftime, all ending in defeat. Had Vinícius's "skip-step penalty" not been too careless, Manchester City would have suffered an even greater loss.

This is also Guardiola's sixth Champions League defeat against Real Madrid in his coaching career. He suffered double defeats by Real Madrid in the 2013/14 Champions League semi-finals and the 2024/25 Champions League play-offs, and lost 1-3 to Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2021/22 Champions League semi-finals, missing the final. This match is Guardiola's second-largest defeat against Real Madrid since his 0-4 loss with Bayern in 2014. Haaland recorded his second zero-shot game in 57 Champions League appearances, the previous one being six years ago when Dortmund lost 0-2 to Paris Saint-Germain.

Guardiola's pre-match humility proved prophetic: "Manchester City has only played 14 years in the Champions League, while Real Madrid has won 15 titles." Manchester City had only once trailed 0-3 in a Champions League knockout first leg before—against Liverpool in the 2017/18 quarter-finals, ultimately being eliminated by a double defeat. The Blues had previously lost four times in European knockout first legs conceding three goals, all ending in elimination. This time, the outlook is likely similarly grim.

Yesterday, Tottenham goalkeeper Kinski made two early low-level errors, leading to Tottenham's 2-5 defeat against Atlético Madrid. Unexpectedly, a day later, a similar script repeated—23-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Joensen, also stepping up as a substitute, made two identical mistake "gifts," and Chelsea suffered a defeat with the same scoreline.

Unlike Kinski planting the bomb early, the Danish player's errors occurred after Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were already tied 2-2, but his poor performance caused the team to quickly collapse, ultimately conceding three more goals for a heavy defeat. In the 73rd minute, Joensen's pass in the box was intercepted by Barcola, allowing Vitinha to score with a close-range lob. In the 89th minute, his clearance was again intercepted, leading to Lee Kang-in scoring into an empty net. The only luck was that the second error resulted in an offside goal being invalidated, yet it still drew问责 from teammate Enzo. Paris Saint-Germain scored five times from eight shots on target. Joensen, who made several brilliant saves in the first half, was completely broken in the second half.

Chelsea manager Rosénio chose Joensen due to his strong ball distribution from the back, but ironically, success and failure both came from passing. Joensen, who erred in the second half, avoided the humiliation Kinski faced of being substituted early, but Chelsea again proved that last summer's Club World Cup final victory was merely a fluke. Against Paris Saint-Germain's potent attack, Chelsea's defense was fragile. Similar to Tottenham's heavy defeat, Chelsea's collapse wasn't due to perfect opponent performance; Paris Saint-Germain's defense was also poor, but Joensen's errors decided everything.

This 2-5 defeat is Chelsea's joint third-largest European loss, only better than the 1999/2000 Champions League quarter-final second leg (1-5 loss to Barcelona) and the 1965/66 International Exhibition Cup final (0-5 loss to Barcelona). In Chelsea's European knockout history, they had twice previously lost the first leg by a three-goal margin, both resulting in elimination. In the 2013/14 Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea lost the first leg away 1-3 to Paris Saint-Germain but won 2-0 in the second leg, advancing on away goals advantage. This time, Chelsea's disadvantage for the second leg is a three-goal deficit, making a miracle likely hard to repeat.

Arsenal, leading both the Premier League and Champions League group stage tables, nearly lost away to Leverkusen, relying on Havertz's 89th-minute penalty to bring back a draw from the away match. Leverkusen, far inferior in squad strength, exceeded Arsenal in shots (10-6) and shots on target (3-2). In the 46th minute, Andrich scored from a corner—using Arsenal's most proficient attacking method to breach the Gunners' defense.

This was Arsenal's first goal conceded from a corner since November 2024 against Sporting Portugal, and also Arsenal's first time trailing in this Champions League season. Against Leverkusen's solid defensive block, Arsenal's set-piece tactics, particularly corners, which often worked in the Premier League, also failed.

All Premier League teams failed to win in the Champions League quarter-finals first leg, the last such occurrence being the 2022/23 season. Then, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham lost to Real Madrid, Dortmund, and Milan respectively, while Manchester City drew away with RB Leipzig. However, in the second leg, Chelsea and Manchester City both achieved reversals, with Manchester City consecutively defeating Bayern, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan to win the title. Yet, back then Manchester City drew in the first leg, and Chelsea only lost by one goal. Liverpool, which also suffered a 2-5 heavy defeat that year, ultimately got eliminated. This year, Tottenham and Chelsea with 2-5 losses, and Manchester City with a three-goal deficit, their prospects are可想而知.

In the Champions League quarter-finals first leg, all six Premier League teams failed to win, completely " wiped out," closely related to the intense multi-front competition in the Premier League. "Winter lions, spring lambs"—Platini's调侃 about Premier League teams lacking stamina later in the season seems still relevant today. Arsenal, still the top favorite for the Champions League title, must make choices during the fatigue period of spring's four-front battles. They have the chance to replicate Manchester City's success, but前提 is having sufficient luck and足够厚的 bench depth.