Premier League clubs second-class citizens once again in Champions League title chase

In late 2000, Manchester United travelled to PSV Eindhoven for a Champions League group-stage tie. Playing with his usual 4-4-2 formation, Sir Alex Ferguson was embarrassed by how easily the Dutch club found a route to the goal. Unable to deal with the hosts' tactical nous and counter-attacking verve, the English champions succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.

A month later, United were in Belgium to face Anderlecht. Ferguson persisted with the system that had traditionally served him so well in the past and his team were undone again. Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski grabbed two goals and United were humbled once more.

It necessitated a rethink. Dominating the Premier League to a humiliating extent, United needed to be better in Europe. They needed to be smarter and more progressive. There had been a telltale sign the previous season when Real Madrid eliminated them from the elite competition and coasted at Old Trafford for long periods of their quarter-final second-leg clash. In one of those fondly-recalled tournament moments, Real's Argentine midfielder Fernando Redondo slipped past Henning Berg by back-heeling the ball through the defender's legs before teeing up striker Raul who casually made it 3-0. It was a perfect metaphor. Naivety punished by polish.

But as much as defeats to the top brass were easily explained, losing to the also-rans wasn't so straightforward. It would take Ferguson time to figure out the subtleties of European competition again and though his team remained competitive, they repeatedly came up short when it mattered most. Finally, after periods of dominance by German and Italian clubs, United re-emerged with a fresh outlook on the competition and with an absorbing and well-balanced side. Hungry to prove their worth, they qualified for three finals in four years, winning once.

So there was a time, not that long ago, when English clubs treated the Champions League differently. European fixtures ensured a different approach, a different process. Yet, watching the depressingly-familiar way each Premier League side have wearily exited this year's competition suggests that isn't the case anymore.

As soon as Manchester City failed to conjure a midweek miracle against Barcelona on Wednesday night, the inquest began in earnest. Why are Premier League teams failing in the Champions League? Is it a lack of a mid-season break? Is the equally-distributed TV rights money ensuring an ultra-competitive domestic competition? Is it thereby leading to the elite teams feeling drained after each relentlessly frenetic encounter?

Well, few mentioned the lack of a winter stoppage when there was at least one English team in a Champions League final seven times during an eight-year stretch (2005-2012). And when renowned coaches like Jose Mourinho ensure that daily training is high-intensity and game-specific, the “ultra-competitive” excuse is also difficult to fathom.

But the culture of the game is an issue. A Barcelona side that keeps the ball isn't an earth-shattering recent phenomenon, but how the reigning English champions failed to offer any sort of counter on Wednesday evening was bewildering. On occasion, City's two-legged affair with the Catalans seemed a throwback to the 2011 Champions League final when Manchester United had little response to the delicate but purposeful poise of Pep Guardiola's revolutionary side and spent the majority of the game squandering possession, struggling to breathe and desperately trying to avoid asphyxiation.

The problem for United on that evening in London and for City this week was that they were forced to abandon their natural way of thinking. For a brief few days in training beforehand, they had to un-learn their instincts and immediately get to grips with some new ones – an impossible task. The Premier League lulls teams into a false sense of security. Where Barcelona press and harass without the ball, English teams sit back and absorb, preferring to unleash their gifted offensive players on the counter-attack, thereby absolving them of defensive responsibility.

In the Camp Nou last night, much was made of the high-profile Yaya Toure being replaced with 20 minutes left. An easy target owing to his languid style, the Ivorian does in Europe what he's lauded for in England. There, he plays in the same spaces and zones and picks up the litany of loose passes and interceptions that fall his way. He preys on the inabilities of the opposition and doesn't have to worry about what's going on behind him. Toure is a creature of habit and on Wednesday, so was his club.

Over at Old Trafford these days, a bemused Louis van Gaal has had to acquiesce with the traditions of his new environment. A wily and experienced coach, a man intrinsically linked to forward thinking and who proudly speaks of his “philosophy” at every given opportunity, the Dutchman appears lost at sea. The imposing, caricature-like figure of Marouane Fellaini is being used as a target man with the Manchester United players instructed to send pin-point passes towards his Velcro chest. The most damning thing of all is that the strategy - so basic and borderline-offensive - is working. Premier League teams can't deal with it.

Having recently signed a $9-billion TV rights deal (for three years), are the administrators of the English top flight currently immersed in intense, in-depth discussions about their teams' Champions League failures? Probably not. They've got a show to run. And with renewed interest in the title race owing to Chelsea and Manchester City's recent stumbles, the hysteria will be only heightened in the next two months.

As the culture of the Premier League harms the ambitions of its best teams, few seem to care. But just like 15 years ago, it's not just the heavyweights that are feasting on England's finest. In the last fortnight, clubs have been turned over by the mediocre. But, it's not a priority anymore. Instead, the focus is on the main event and billions will tune in to watch the season finale.

Remember, there's only one show in town.