No English club in the semi-finals of the Champions League, no English club in the semi-finals of the Europa League – only Aston Villa made it to the semi-finals of the Conference League. English football recently experienced a European Cup round of horrors. For Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, however, there can be no talk of a changing of the guard.
Whilst the Bundesliga is performing well internationally, the English clubs are in crisis mode. Last week, the German record champions knocked Arsenal FC out of the premier class. In the parallel match, Manchester City – for many the clear favourites for the Champions League title – lost to Real Madrid on penalties.
Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen also knocked another Premier League club, West Ham United, out of the Europa League. For the first time in 29 years, Germany has three semi-finalists in the European Cup.
Premier League remains the measure of all things in Tuchel’s eyes
But for Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel, the Premier League „remains the strongest league, as before, despite these disappointing results. That can happen, they are knockout competitions. You also need a bit of luck of the draw and luck of the draw from the quarter-finals onwards,“ the 50-year-old told Sky.
„That’s not to diminish the performance of Dortmund, us and Leverkusen, we all deserve to progress. But from the quarter-finals onwards, a red card, a small decision can influence the results,“ the former Chelsea coach continued.
In general, it is difficult to compare the different leagues with each other: „I wouldn’t draw the big conclusion. Maybe it’s not even interesting whether the league … it is what it is. It’s different to England and different to France, but every league is complicated to win.“
Bundesliga beckons fifth place in the top flight
The good performance of the German teams, coupled with the unaccustomed weakness of the English clubs, will very likely earn the Bundesliga a fifth place in the Champions League next season. The Bundesliga is currently in second place behind Serie A in the UEFA rankings.
If the winner of the current CL competition finishes fifth or lower in the final Bundesliga table, there could even be six participants.
