Champions League

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Robert has a point there!

It's not England but Spain and Real Madrid who have dominated the Champions League during the past decade.

Real alone have won the competition six times since 2013-14, with Spanish clubs winning it five times in a row between 2013 and 2018 as Barcelona joined them with their 2014-15 triumph.

England has had three winners in Europe in the last 10 years - with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City emerging victorious, while the Reds were also beaten finalists twice to Real.

There have also been two all-England finals as Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in 2018-19 and Chelsea edged City 1-0 in 2020-21 under Thomas Tuchel.

So the question now is whether the Premier League can end the Spanish dominance in Europe.

Past 10 Champions League winners:

• 2015-16 - Real Madrid
• 2016-17 - Real Madrid
• 2017-18 - Real Madrid
• 2018-19 - Liverpool
• 2019-20 - Bayern Munich
• 2020-21 - Chelsea
• 2021-22 - Real Madrid
• 2022-23 - Manchester City
• 2023-24 - Real Madrid
• 2024-25 - Paris St-Germain

It is still early days but Arsenal's superb start has them rated as the most likely to go all the way and win the competition.

Opta predictions give them a 23.4% chance of winning the Champions League, while Manchester City are predicted to be the second most-likely English team to reach the final at 12.5%. Liverpool are third favourites from England with 11.3%.

But former Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes the true test of the Premier League teams' capabilities will come in the knockouts.

He said: "It is great [what English teams are currently doing], but it is only when you then get to the knockout stages, where it is literally one team through and one going home, that is the true test and that is when the big-hitters turn up."

But Osman added that while it is early days, there could be signs that Premier League teams are now getting the balance right between being able to be competitive at home and abroad.

"We have probably expected this [dominance] for years, but it hasn't quite materialised before," he said.

"Maybe that is down to the competitiveness of the Premier League, which makes it hard to combine the two, but maybe this year, they are starting to get the balance right."

That's a good observation, Neil.

But shouldn't the fact that English clubs have more competition at home also make them more battle-hardened for the knockout stages than their European counterparts?

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This is the first Champions League season to feature six clubs from one nation and history will be made if all six of England's representatives go through.

Back in 2017, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham all progressed, making England the first country to have five teams in the knockouts of the competition.

However just two of those sides - Liverpool and Manchester City - got beyond the last 16, while the Reds went all the way to final after knocking City out in the quarter-finals.

In the final, Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid.

According to Opta's predictions, Arsenal have a 99.8% chance of progressing to the knockouts, with Manchester City on 97.4% and Liverpool on 95.5%.

However, the predictions model is a little less confident over the automatic progress of the other three sides with Newcastle on 82%, Chelsea on 80.8% and Tottenham on 72%.

Former Liverpool midfielder Stephen Warnock told BBC Sport: "I'd say at the moment it is [significant what English teams are doing], but it doesn't matter what goes on at the moment because we saw what happened last year, when Liverpool were dominating and finished top of the league stage - and then they were suddenly knocked out by PSG who had been rubbish up until then.

"So I just don't see at the moment, unless you get knocked out, what effect it is going to have and it does not mean the English teams are going to get through the knockout stages because it all depends on the draw, and how you are set up later in the competition."

Julien Laurens
European football expert on MOTD: UEFA Champions League

The Premier League is the best league in the world, the richest league in the world as well with the best players.

It's almost natural that English clubs are so dominant.

So what do you think of the Premier League's dominant start to this season's Champions League?

Do you think one of the English clubs will win it? And if yes, who will that be?

Or are we reading too much into these league phase displays? After all, it's the knockout stages where the big names truly show their mettle?

We would love to hear your thoughts on this, so do have your say by clicking on the 'Get Involved' tab at the top of this page.

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Five teams from one country had never all won in a single round of Champions League matches prior to this season.

But Premier League sides did exactly that this week, as they did in the previous round of games. English sides have won 17 of 24 fixtures so far with a win percentage of 71%.

The richest league in the world is leveraging its financial muscle and if this consistency continues, it could result in the Premier League earning a ‘bonus’ Champions League place for the team finishing fifth, as was the case last year.

I know which goal you're thinking of, Mark, but that was against Arsenal in 2008. Great header and definitely a bit of curve on it.

The one against Juventus was a lovely left-foot volley.

Image source, Getty Images

Collectively, English teams are outperforming those from other countries, winning 17 of their 24 games, scoring a total of 56 goals - 14 more than any others - and conceding just 17, a record only bettered by teams from France, who have three clubs in the competition compared to six from England.

So why are English teams doing so well?

A significant factor is the financial muscle they are able to flex compared to teams from the rest of Europe, enabling them to spend more on transfer fees and wages to attract the best talent.

TV rights have generated enormous broadcast revenues for Premier League sides, with the income from that source dwarfing those of other countries.

This summer, Premier League clubs outlaid more than ever before in the transfer window as spending surpassed £3bn.

To highlight just how much financial power Premier League clubs have over elsewhere in Europe, the total spent this year was more than was spent by Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs combined.

More money means clubs can invest in bigger squads, with Arsenal seeing the benefits of spending big this summer to increase their strength in depth as they lead the way in the Premier League and sit joint-top of the league standings in the Champions League.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

English clubs appear to be bossing things in Europe as, for the second time in this season's Champions League, five sides from the Premier League won in a single round of fixtures.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham all won their games this week, with the first four of those sides now sitting inside the top eight - the positions they need to be in to qualify automatically for the knockouts.

Only Chelsea failed to take all three points as they were held to a surprising 2-2 draw by Qarabag on Wednesday, but they are still handily placed at the halfway stage of the group stage as they sit 12th.

Before this season the Champions League had never seen five teams from one country all win in a single round of matches. Now teams from England have managed it twice.

"In five years' time we will look at this period of the next five years as the domination of England, I don't see it any other way," Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague told BBC Sport.

"Bayern are doing really, really well and they can disrupt that. PSG will have their moments, I think Barcelona and Real Madrid are lagging behind, but there is nobody else."

So following this dominant start, are English teams favourite to win the Champions League? And how likely is a fourth all-English final?

Speaking of rising above, there is a decidedly English feel to the top half of that Champions League table.

Six of the top 12 spots - and four of the top eight - are taken by Premier League clubs.

So are English sides starting to take over Europe's premier club competition?

Champions League

But it is all rather less rosy for some big-name European clubs.

Four-time European Cup winners Ajax are propping up the table after four straight losses to start this year's campaign with two-time champions Benfica only ahead of them on goal difference.

Meanwhile, Juventus and Marseille have only three points apiece so far and Italian champions Napoli are clinging on to the final play-off spot with four points from their first four.

Image source, BBC Sport

Champions League

Halfway through the league phase and things are looking good for the English sides.

Four of the six are in the top eight - who qualify automatically for the last 16 - with Tottenham and Chelsea just outside and in the play-off spots as things stand...

Image source, BBC Sport

OK. Thanks, Adam.

Anyway, let's have a look at how the Champions League table looks after four rounds of games...