English clubs have dominated the Europa and Conference Leagues since the new format was introduced. After two years, no team from the Premier League has ever been knocked out by a team from another league. The background. And why this is unlikely to change any time soon.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Since the new European Cup format, no Premier League club has lost a knockout clash against a foreign team.
- English teams are currently only losing to other English clubs in Europe.
- The Premier League's financial advantage is seen as the main reason for its dominance. Even English mid-table clubs such as Aston Villa, Brighton and Bournemouth have significantly more valuable squads than many of their international rivals.
Crystal Palace wins the Conference League on Wednesday evening. The team from London beat Rayo Vallecano 1:0 to continue an incredible run.
Since the introduction of the new European Cup mode for the 2024/25 season, English teams have not lost a single clash in the knockout phase against a foreign opponent in the Europa League and Conference League.
A week earlier, Aston Villa had already won the Europa League with a 3:0 victory over Freiburg in the final.
Only defeats against other English teams
They can only beat themselves: Because the only way Premier League teams have been knocked out of these competitions in the past two years is when they have faced an opponent from their own league. For example, Nottingham in this year's Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa or Manchester United in last year's final against Tottenham.
Chelsea marched through the Conference League last season, beating Real Betis 4-1 in the final. Palace followed suit a year later.
Huge difference in market value
The fact that foreign teams often don't stand a chance against the English in the Europa and Conference League also has to do with money. Example: According to Transfermarkt, Aston Villa's squad has an estimated market value of around 550 million euros. Meanwhile, the squad of final opponents Freiburg is worth just around 191 million euros. A huge difference.
While the top clubs from the other European leagues can keep up with the top teams from England in the Champions League, the gap in the Europa and Conference Leagues is huge. This is because the mid-table clubs in the Premier League have completely different financial resources to those in the other leagues.
And there is already a threat of trouble next season: Brighton, a team from the Premier League with a market value of €500 million, will be competing in the Conference League. And in the Europa League, Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Bournemouth are once again three teams whose squads are worth a combined €1.3 billion. Paving the way for the next English show of strength?
