Not so long ago, three English teams were making the last four of the Champions League, and even with Chelsea as the current holder of the trophy, this year has seen a sudden demise in the dominance of the EPL.
So much has already been said about the red card Nani received against Real Madrid and whether you agree with it or not, the fact is that Manchester United immediately crumbled and conceded two goals in three minutes. That is not the sign of a champion, and has nothing to do with the referee.
Of the four English teams that started the Champions League this season, Manchester City and Chelsea never even made it to the knock-out stages. Manchester United, no matter how much they couch that defeat to Madrid as an injustice – they are not the best team in Europe.
Arsenal, the only English team left in the competition, will definitely be out of it next week, as they have already lost the home game 1-3 to a rampant Bayern Munich. The only question which remains in that game is how much does Bayern Munich want to rub Arsenal’s nose into the proverbial dirt?
So just blaming a referee for going out of the European Cup is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide abject failure behind.
It is now the German and Spanish leagues that lead the way, and it is hard to see beyond Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as potential winners, with my money on Madrid to win their tenth title.
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