India, March 19 -- And then there were two. From an unprecedented six in the last 16, that is the number of teams from the Premier League remaining in the Champions League.

Liverpool and Arsenal won in a round where Manchester City and Chelsea exited on the back of 1-5 and 2-8 defeats. Tottenham Hotspur's victory in London made the margin of defeat (5-7) respectable but Newcastle, who were injury-time minutes away from winning at home, collapsed after a promising start to lose 2-7 (and 3-8 over both legs) to Barcelona.

So what gives? Why are teams from the world's richest league struggling in Europe's premier competition? Last term, Arsenal were the only side from England in the semi-finals. Ditto 2022-23 when Manchester City went all t...