Ranking the 12 most embarrassing defeats for English clubs in Europe | OneFootball

Highlights

Historically, English clubs have a pretty good record in Europe. Liverpool are the fourth-most successful side in Champions League history and only teams from Spain have won more titles (19) in the competition than English clubs (15).

In recent years, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have all lifted the elite prize while in other European tournaments, Chelsea and Manchester United have both won the Europa League in the last 10 years while West Ham became only the second holders of the relatively young Conference League. So it's fair to say that English teams have had their share of success on the continent.

But over the years, there have also been some incredibly poor showings from Premier League clubs against UEFA's elite. Even under Sir Alex Ferguson, there were several occasions where Man United failed to even make it out of the group stage of the Champions League and for all of Man City's dominance domestically, it took fifteen years after their takeover, and seven under Pep Guardiola, for them to finally lift the ultimate prize in club football, in the summer of 2023.

So in that spirit, join us at GIVEMESPORT as we count down 12 of the most embarrassing defeats English clubs have suffered in Europe over the years. While every big 6 club makes it on this list at least once, there are some that feature on it more than others.

12 Copenhagen 4-3 Manchester United - 2023/24 season

The most recent entry on this list comes during the 2023/24 campaign and a torrid group stage for Erik ten Hag's men. Having lost two of their first three matches in the competition, United needed a win to give them a fighting chance of qualifying for the knockout stages and things seemed to be going well when a brace in the opening half an hour from Rasmus Hojlund put his side 2-0 ahead against his boyhood club.

But when Marcus Rashford received a red card in the 42nd minute for a late challenge, the momentum of the match shifted and by half-time, the Danes were level. United showed great resilience to restore their lead in the 69th minute thanks to a Bruno Fernandes penalty but then capitulated in the final ten minutes as goals from Lukas Lerager and Roony Bardghji saw Copenhagen complete a memorable comeback.

11 Lech Poznan 3-1 Manchester City - 2010/11 season

This defeat came in the middle of Man City's first European campaign under the stewardship of the Abu Dhabi United group and took place in the Europa League. City were unbeaten in their first three group games and had easily beaten the Polish side at the Etihad Stadium just two weeks before, in a match which saw the City fans adopt the now-iconic Poznan celebration from the travelling supporters.

However, Roberto Mancini's side came undone in the return fixture as late goals from Manuel Arboleda and Mateusz Mozdzen consigned them to a surprise 3-1 defeat. This disappointing loss did not derail the Citizens' European journey and they were still able to top a group containing Juventus and reach the round of 16 where they were narrowly beaten by Dynamo Kyiv over two legs.

10 Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United - 2021/22 season

Man United feature again on this list and it won't be for the last time either. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had endured a miserable European campaign the previous season, crashing out of the Champions League group stage before losing on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final.

It seemed for a while it was going to be a similar story in the 2021/22 campaign as they lost their opening group game 2-1 away to Young Boys, thanks to a winner in the 95th minute from Jordan Siebatcheu and after the Red Devils had only had two shots on goal all game - the fewest in any Champions League match since 2003 according to Opta. However, they were able to turn the tide around and went unbeaten for their remaining five matches and eventually topped their group.

9 Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid - 2022/23 season

Liverpool must hate the sight of Real Madrid at this point as they have lost seven of their last eight meetings with the Spanish giants, which includes two Champions League finals. In February 2023, amid a miserable domestic season, the Reds were ready to turn their full attention onto another stab at Europe's elite prize as well as getting some revenge on Los Blancos.

For a time, things seemed to be going well as early goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah fired Liverpool into a 2-0 lead after just 14 minutes, but Real soon responded and Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema each bagged braces as they became the first-ever side to score five goals at Anfield in a European match. A solitary Benzema goal was enough to win the second leg and quash any chances of the Reds winning silverware that season.

8 Bayern Munich 4-1 Chelsea - 2019/20 season

Chelsea had a mixed campaign in Frank Lampard's first season in charge. They had edged their way through the Champions League group stage, finishing just one point ahead of third-placed Ajax, whom they had to come from behind to draw 4-4 with at Stamford Bridge, and were drawn to face Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

The German side came to West London and produced a ruthless performance, coming away with a 3-0 win before the COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to all football in Europe and the second leg wasn't played until almost six months later and at an empty Allianz Arena. Bayern showed no mercy there either and hammered Chelsea 4-1, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice as the German giants marched on to their sixth European crown.

7 Sevilla 3-0 Manchester United - 2022/23 season

Manchester United feature for a third time and this defeat occurred in the Europa League. After failing to qualify for the Champions League the previous season, the Red Devils were determined to make amends in UEFA's secondary competition and eased their way through a relatively straightforward group before beating both Barcelona and Real Betis in the knockout stages.

They were then drawn to face their third consecutive Spanish opposition in Sevilla, who had won six Europa Leagues in the 21st century alone. In the first leg, a first-half Marcel Sabitzer brace was cancelled out late on by own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire, before a complete collapse in Spain which saw Sevilla run out comfortable 3-0 winners and dump United out of the competition at the quarter-final stage.

6 Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur - 2020/21 season

Jose Mourinho's appointment was meant to signal a new era at Tottenham and the Portuguese was brought in with the intention of building on the great work Mauricio Pochettino had done in North London and turning a group of talented players into winners. However, that wasn't quite how it worked out and never was that more evident than in the Europa League round of 16 tie against Dinamo Zagreb.

A brace from Harry Kane was enough to secure a 2-0 win at home in the first leg, but complacency got the better of Spurs in the Croatian capital as Zagreb forward Mislav Orsic grabbed a brace of his own to take the match to extra-time before going one better and completing his hat-trick to knock Tottenham in an enormous upset. Mourinho was sacked a month later.

5 Arsenal 1-5 Bayern Munich - 2016/17 season

By February 2017, Arsenal were coming to the end of Arsene Wenger's managerial tenure at the club and the 'Wenger Out' cries were perhaps never louder than on the night Bayern Munich came over and humiliated the Gunners on their own patch. Arsenal had impressed during the group stage, topping a group that included PSG, but fans won't have been confident when they were drawn to face the German giants in the round of 16.

Their worst fears were confirmed when they were hammered 5-1 by the Bavarians, in front of 70,000 supporters at the Allianz Arena. The Gunners had the chance to restore some pride in the second leg as Theo Walcott put them ahead in the 20th minute, but then completely capitulated in the second half after Laurent Koscielny's sending off and Carlo Ancelotti's team were able to repeat the scoreline from the first leg, consigning Arsenal to the heaviest aggregate defeat for an English side in Champions League history.

4 FC Midtjylland 2-1 Manchester United - 2015/16 season

Man United fans must be sick of seeing their own name on this list now, but they have certainly had their fair share of humiliating defeats in Europe over the years. In the 2015/16 season, they exited the Champions League at the group stage after coming third in a relatively easy group containing Wolfsburg, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow, which meant they entered the Europa League.

A round of 32 tie with the relatively unknown FC Midtjylland, a team founded the year United won the treble under Sir Alex in 1999, and supporters expecting an easy passage into the next round were left stunned as the Danish side emerged as 2-1 victors in the first leg. United still managed to progress thanks to a commanding 5-1 in the second leg, including a brace from Marcus Rashford on his senior debut, before they were knocked out by deadly rivals Liverpool in the round of 16.

3 Arsenal 1-2 Ostersunds - 2017/18 season

Before Graham Potter started defying the odds with Brighton & Hove Albion, he'd been working miracles with Swedish minnows Ostersunds, taking them from the fourth tier of Sweden into the Europa League knockout stages. After eased through their group, they were drawn to face an Arsenal side in the round of 32.

The Gunners won a convincing first leg in Sweden 3-0 but were given a huge scare in the return leg at the Emirates, when the visitors, who were founded the same month Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager in October 1996, scored two goals in two minutes through Hosam Aiesh and Ken Sema to bring the aggregate score back to 3-2. Sead Kolasinac's strike for the Gunners early in the second half helped settle the nerves, but despite their progression, they were still humiliated at the Emirates Stadium by a club operating well beyond their means and Potter would become Swansea City manager that summer.

2 Maccabi Haifa 3-0 Manchester United - 2002/03 season

This is the fifth time Man United feature on this list and this time we go back to 2002 when the Red Devils were in their pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson. United had thrashed the Israeli side 5-2 when they first met a few weeks ago and had indeed won all of their first group matches when they travelled to Cyprus for the return fixture, as UEFA banned international matches from being played in Israel.

As United had already sealed their progress to the next round of the competition, a weakened team was sent out, but it still should have enough to beat Maccabi Haifa, however, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were left shell-shocked as Yaniv Katan and Raimondas Zutautas each scored belters before Yakubu, a future Premier League star, converted a spot-kick to round off a famous 3-0 victory. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for them to secure passage to the next stages, meanwhile United crashed out in the quarter-final after a famous clash with Real Madrid.

1 Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 Bayern Munich - 2019/20 season

It's clear from this left that Bayern Munich enjoy heaping the misery onto their English counterparts as they feature on this list for a third time. Tottenham had played in a Champions League final just four months before they faced the Germans but had endured a difficult start to the new season by the time Bayern came calling.

True to form, Niko Kovac's side showed absolutely no mercy and ran out 7-2 winners in North London with former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry grabbing four goals and rubbing salt into Spurs' wounds. The construction of a brand new, world-class stadium had meant to elevate Tottenham Hotspur as a club to an elite level, but within six months of its opening, Bayern Munich had made the trip and handed them a humiliatingly heavy defeat in front of over 60,000 spectators.