Laliga teams continue to struggle in the Champions League.
Five teams in Europe’s premier club competition is a sign of a standout league, but six games into the season, LaLiga is only standing out as the worst of the top five European leagues playing in the Champions League.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Villarreal, and Athletic Club have all struggled in this season’s Champions League, with their few wins coming against teams outside the top European leagues.
Their struggles are both comical and frustrating. Especially given that these teams are the showstoppers in their domestic league, with four of the five occupying the top four positions on the LaLiga standings.
The LaLiga so far has been a tight affair among the top teams, with Barcelona leading the way, four points ahead of second-place Real Madrid, while third-place Villarreal, who trail the leaders by five points, have a game in hand.
Atlético Madrid completes the top four, and has recently slipped nine points behind after their loss to Barcelona a couple of Matchdays ago.
The four teams have split the league standings with no other team recording up to 30 points. Athletic Club started the season strongly but fell off at some point. They are now climbing up again, and currently sit seventh.
However, none of these teams have been able to transform their league form into good performances in the Champions League, especially against fellow heavyweights from top European leagues.
LaLiga struggles in the Champions League
So far, Real Madrid and Atlético lead the way on points for LaLiga teams, with both recording 12 points each out of the possible 18, but their performances have been far from impressive as the points suggest.
Los Blancos’ two losses have come against their only two major opponents, Liverpool and Manchester City. Only against newcomer Kairat Almaty have they won a game by more than a goal margin.
They struggled at home against Juventus and Olympique Marseille, winning by Jude Bellingham’s lone goal and Kylian Mbappé’s brace after Tim Weah’s opener, respectively.
For Atletico Madrid, their only two defeats have also come against English teams, with a 3-2 loss at Liverpool in the opening round and a humiliating 4-0 loss to Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium in round three.
They earned an impressive win over Inter thanks to a late winner, while their other game wins have come against PSV Eindhoven of Eredivisie, Belgian outfit Union St. Gilloise, and Frankfurt, who have just one win so far.
League leaders Barcelona have been very underwhelming, with two of their three wins coming with a difference of one goal, while they needed Olympiacos to go a man down before they could finally secure their only comfortable win.
They were beaten by PSG’s youth team and humiliated 3-0 at Chelsea, while they also failed to beat Club Brugge, letting in three goals against a team that has scored five more goals in the other five games combined.
Athletic Club has won, a 3-1 home victory over Qarabag in round four. They have been beaten at home by Premier League duo Arsenal and Newcastle United, while their trip to Dortmund in Germany also ended in a loss.
They picked up a point against PSG in the last game but that takes them to five points, after also failing to beat Slavia Prague in round five. They remain outside the top 24.
Villarreal is the worst of the lot. The former Europa League winner remains winless after six games, picking up one point and losing to Tottenham, Manchester City, Dortmund, Copenhagen, and Cypriot side Pafos FC.
Each of the teams has been beaten by two Premier League clubs except Barcelona, who have won one, against Newcastle United, but suffered a humiliating loss at Chelsea in round five.
It has so far been an embarrassing outing for the Spanish teams, and this has left two on the brink of elimination, and the other three at risk of heading into the elimination playoff.
They have a lot to make up for ahead of the elimination rounds, because if they continue on current form, it could get messy if they draw top teams, which could lead to early exit of all five, even though it is becoming obvious that not all five will progress from the league.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
