Wednesday was a disappointing day for Spanish sides in the Champions League, with FC Barcelona held to a 3-3 draw away to Club Brugge.

Meanwhile, injury-hit Athletic Club Bilbao lost 2-0 in Newcastle and Villarreal crashed to a 1-0 defeat in Cyprus against Pafos.

Tuesday was also a mixed night for teams from La Liga, with Atletico Madrid taking the only win this week by a Spanish side thanks to a 3-1 triumph at home to Union Saint-Gilloise while Real Madrid was outplayed by Liverpool with only goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saving Xabi Alonso's side from a worse defeat than the 1-0 loss at Anfield.

Giuliano Simeone (R) of Atletico de Madrid vies with Ousseynou Niang of Union Saint-Gilloise during the UEFA Champions League football match between Atletico de Madrid and Union Saint-Gilloise in Madrid, Spain, on Nov. 4, 2025. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

While this week's games have to cast doubts over the chances of Spanish sides in the tournament, the fourth round of matches highlighted the power of the Premier League, with Liverpool, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all winning their respective matches and Liverpool and Newcastle both doing so against rivals from La Liga.

Four sides from the Premier League (Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle and Liverpool) are currently in the top-eight places in the Champions League qualifying group that would give direct access to the last-16, while Tottenham sits 10th and is unbeaten in the competition and Chelsea is in 12th place, with both currently opting for a spot in the play-offs.

Real Madrid is the only Spanish side currently looking at direct qualification for the last-16, while FC Barcelona is a place above Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in 17th place.

Meanwhile both Athletic Bilbao, who does at least have the excuse of a long injury list, and Villarreal sit 27th and 32nd respectively and needing a big improvement to have a chance of the qualifying round which takes in teams that finish the group stage between 9th and 24th place.

There have been eight clashes between English and Spanish sides so-far this season in the Champions League, with teams from the Premier League winning seven.

The only Spanish victory was FC Barcelona's 2-1 win in St James' Park in the first round of matches, which came thanks to two goals from England international, Marcus Rashford.

Arsenal, who last season knocked Real Madrid out, has beaten Atletico Madrid 4-0 and won 2-0 in Bilbao this time around, while Liverpool has wins against both Atletico and Real Madrid and Manchester City enjoyed a comfortable night in its 2-0 win in Villarreal back in October.

While it is certainly true that the most important thing is to qualify for the knockout stages and Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid look well positioned to at least make the play-off in February, this season seems to highlight that the Premier League has more depth and is more competitive than La Liga.