Off the Crossbar: Waning Competition

For much of the last two decades, English sides have largely been overshadowed by their neighbors in European tournaments. While clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich dominated the continental scene, English soccer had one source of pride — the level of competitiveness of the domestic Premier League.

Unlike in Spain (Barcelona and Real Madrid), Italy (Juventus), Germany (Bayern and Dortmund) or France (PSG), where a few big clubs monopolized domestic competitions, the Premier League was always more of a free-for-all. Manchester City’s successful retention of the title last season was the first time any team had won back-to-back Premier League crowns since 2008–09.

Earlier in the century, there was a clear top four in England — Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal — but in the past decade, that has expanded to a top-six, as Tottenham and Manchester City have forced themselves into the elite group, who, at the beginning of nearly every season, honestly believe that they have a shot at the title.

But over the last two years, that competitive balance has begun to teeter toward a duopoly. City and Liverpool combined for the three highest-scoring seasons (points-wise) in Premier League history over their last two campaigns,and Pep Guardiola’s men have set a new standard for the level of play. Liverpool’s 97 points last seasonwould have won the Premier League in every other season, bar the last two.

Manchester City’s 8–0 victory over Watford this past week epitomized the growing gulf in class in England. After its shocking 3–2 defeat to Norwich the prior weekend (its first in 18 Premier League games), City flipped a switch and showed their extra gear. Watford isn’t some low-level side either — the Hornets finished a respectable 11th last season and are a solid mid-tier team.

It’s eerily reminiscent of some of the beat downs that Guardiola’s old Barcelona sides regularly handed out in Spain. Just as he is doing in England, Pep lifted his Barcelona side to an unprecedented level of play, and in response, so did José Mourinho at Real Madrid. As a result, the two sides have combined for 14 out of the last 15 La Liga titles.

For City today, Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool represent that challenger. Under their pragmatic German manager, the Reds have turned Anfield back into the fortress it once was and even have a Champions League trophy to show for it. The two sides are so clearly better than everyone else., Even though it’s only September, it’s already a two-horse race for the title.

The Premier League made its name due to its sheer competitiveness. Top players would move to England for any of the top six teams and know that they had a shot at the title. Slowly though, the league is regressing toward the more predictable nature of the rest of Europe. Elite players now only want to play at these two teams, further reinforcing their supremacy. The owners of the rest of the league have a challenge on their hands to return to their winning ways if they don't want to risk being permanently left behind in the dust.