Where did it all go wrong? British clubs lost five out of six games they played in Europe this week…
They call the Premier League the best in the world, but four of it’s best – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur – were beaten by an aggregate score of 8-2 this week by teams from France, Spain, Turkey and Italy.
SEE MORE:
Four Reasons Premier League Teams Are So Horrible In Europe After Bad Week For Arsenal, Liverpool & Co.
Premier League Is Officially Awful: English Teams Lose 9-5 In Terrible Week Of European Fixtures
Liverpool Avoid FFP Punishment, But Premier League Rivals Not So Lucky
Click through the list below to see who we ranked as the biggest villains in a desperate week for English football:
10) Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
The young forward is in the process of haggling over a new contract to keep him at Anfield, and wants upwards of £100,000-per-week. On this evidence, he certainly doesn’t deserve such royalties. He looked disinterested for much of the evening, and needs to do more to prove his worth.
9) Federico Fazio (Tottenham Hotspur)
At fault for Mario Gomez’s crucial goal, which always left Spurs chasing the game. He failed to track the run of the German and quickly paid the price as he fired past Hugo Lloris. Fiorentina took full advantage of their lead, adding a second late on to put Fazio and co out of their misery.
8) Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)
Caught out far too often for such an experienced campaigner. He was often found wanting at the back, with his lack of pace exposed time and again. He was unlucky with Monaco’s first goal, deflecting it past David Ospina, but he made a huge mistake in the build-up to the second.
7) Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
The forward can be somewhat forgiven as he’s still working his way back from a long-term injury, but for Liverpool fans their No. 15 is becoming an increasing source of worry. Will he ever be the same without Luis Suarez alongside him? On this evidence, he has a lot of hard work to do.
6) Roberto Soldado (Tottenham Hotspur)
How many more chances will he get? The Spaniard’s career at White Hart Lane is surely on its final legs after another woeful performances. Even with the Capital One Cup final to come on Sunday afternoon, there will be plenty of Spurs fans saying Harry Kane should have started.
5) Gael Clichy (Manchester City)
His red card, produced for two clumsy second-half tackles, ended any hopes City had of coming from behind to level their match with Barcelona. On the plus side, Lionel Messi’s stoppage time penalty miss did at least mean no further damage was done to their hopes of progressing.
4) Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
The German is supposedly worth £40m, but on this evidence he shouldn’t be worth £40! He struggled to find any space to influence the game between Monaco’s compact defensive lines, while his passing also went astray far too often for him to have a positive impact on the match.
3) Dejan Lovren (Liverpool)
It’s been a pretty disastrous season for the Reds’ £20m summer signing from Southampton, and his reputation among the Liverpool fans won’t have been helped by his shocking miss against Besiktas in the penalty shoot-out. As some have commented, his kick is probably still rising.
2) Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
What has happened to the man once widely viewed as the Premier League’s best defender? The Belgian’s form has been patchy to say the best this season, and he was given a nightmare evening once again on Tuesday by Luis Suarez, who scored twice to virtually put the tie beyond City.
1) Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
The Frenchman has been decent since returning from injury, but had a complete disaster in this one. His touch and movement consistently let him down, while he missed a golden opportunity to draw his team level early in the second-half. Hauled off soon after, having had a poor night.