English clubs have struggled to make in impact in Europe for some time now, with the Spanish and German “super clubs” becoming more dominant each year. Last season, all four English participants failed to reach the final eight of the prestigious UEFA Champions League and just one week into this year’s competition it looks like the trend will continue into 2016.
Manchester United’s Dutch foray ended with a 2-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven plus a broken leg to young defender Luke Shaw, which will likely end his season. Memphis Depay opened the scoring against his former club to get United off to a good start but it was only downhill from there. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come when Anthony Martial – who made a fine debut for the Red Devils against Liverpool last weekend – almost missed the team bus before it departed! A lot went wrong for United but Shaw’s injury could prove particularly problematic moving forward. The English full-back had only recently recovered from a long injury layoff and was just starting to find some form in the new season but his potential is again on hold.
Manchester City suffered its first defeat of the new season against last year’s runners-up Juventus. Despite their rampant form on the domestic front, City couldn’t handle the European giants on home soil – beaten by a more organized and spirited Juventus side through well-taken goals from Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata in the final 20 minutes. Not for the first time, City were out-thought and out-maneuvered by a continental side in a game that exhibited worrying similarities to their many previous failed European quests.
Considering Chelsea’s struggles domestically, we don’t like their chances of doing well in Europe either while Arsenal’s thin squad will always be problematic when juggling multiple competitions. News that Jack Wilshere is facing another long term injury lay-off is a huge blow to both the Gunners and English football.
