EPL’s Six Teams: Zero Wins in UCL First Leg

All six English Premier League clubs that reached the UEFA Champions League round of 16 have come up empty-handed in their first-leg ties, delivering a sobering reality check to fans who expected European dominance from the richest league on earth.

As previously reported by NaijaChoice News, the Premier League made history this season with six teams – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United – qualifying for the 2025/26 Champions League. This landmark achievement came courtesy of England’s top position in the UEFA coefficient table plus Tottenham’s Europa League triumph last term, giving the EPL more representatives than any other nation in the expanded 36-team league phase. All six advanced comfortably to the round of 16, sparking talk of English supremacy across Europe.

But Tuesday and Wednesday nights told a different story. In six separate matches, the Premier League giants recorded zero wins, two draws and four heavy defeats. The collective scoreline read six goals scored, 16 conceded.

Galatasaray stunned Liverpool with a narrow 1-0 victory in Istanbul. Newcastle United managed only a 1-1 home draw against Barcelona. Tottenham Hotspur were thrashed 5-2 away by Atlético Madrid. Arsenal fought back for a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen. Chelsea suffered a 5-2 hammering at Paris Saint-Germain, while Manchester City fell 3-0 to Real Madrid in the Spanish capital, with Federico Valverde grabbing a first-half hat-trick.

The results have left Nigerian fans who stayed up till the early hours scratching their heads. How can the league that pays the highest wages and attracts the biggest stars suddenly look so ordinary on the biggest stage? The financial power that helped send six clubs to the last 16 now looks like it cannot buy results when it matters most.

Arsenal and Newcastle remain in the tie thanks to their away draws, while Liverpool only trail by one goal. But Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester City face mountainous tasks in the second legs, needing to overturn three-goal deficits.

This winless night comes at a time when the Premier League was already eyeing another extra Champions League spot for next season through the coefficient table. While the six teams reaching the round of 16 still boosts England’s ranking, the manner of these results has raised fresh questions about whether money alone can translate into European glory.

Second-leg matches are scheduled for March 17 and 18. Nigerian supporters will be watching closely to see if the EPL’s big six can mount dramatic comebacks or if this embarrassing first-leg collapse signals deeper problems for English football on the continent.

One thing is certain: the hype around Premier League dominance has taken a serious hit.