Surrounded like European capital in defeat (5)
I believe the answer is:
beset
'surrounded' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'european capital in defeat' is the wordplay.
'european capital' becomes 'e' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'defeat' becomes 'best' (besting is a kind of defeating).
'e' put within 'best' is 'BESET'.
'like' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for beset that I've seen before include "dog" , "surrounded by hostile forces" , "plague" , "Hem in, surround" , "Hem in, afflict" .)