English Clubs Not Quite So Dominant
The English Premier League was on top of the world, or at least Europe, on Wednesday. Arsenal became the first English club to defeat defending champion A.C. Milan at home. Manchester United outfoxed French side Lyon. Chelsea throttled Olympiacos 3-0. Liverpool looks likely to go through with a 2-0 advantage over Inter.
Assuming that Liverpool held their lead to Inter, that would mean all four English clubs would have made the quarterfinals of the Champions League. With only two out of the seven Spanish and Italian clubs making it that far, it seemed a strong statement that the Premier League was the best league in Europe.
However, this sentiment was short lived.
Vicariously buoyed by their brethren, the overconfident English cubs received reality on Thursday.
Tottenham’s Carling-caused hangover continued as Jefferson Farfan stole a 1-0 lead for PSV, after the first leg at White Hart Lane, muddling Ramos’ stated mission to win two cups this season.
Fiorentina shocked high-flying Everton at home, taking a 2-0 advantage into the second leg. The loss would have been even worse had Tim Howard not put in a man-of-the-match performance.
Bolton as well got an unfortunate result, drawing Sporting Lisbon 1-1 at home. Desperately needing to exit the competition and focus on the relegation battle, they now stand a reasonable chance of advancing.
English success in the Champions League may supplement Sky’s hype material, but, as the UEFA Cup shows, Premier League quality is not quite so disparate.
