The UEFA Champions League opening Knockout Round concluded yesterday with one storyline dominating all others. The English Premiership is simply the best league on the planet. With just 8 teams remaining in the competition the English make up half of the field as every single English squad in the tournament has yet to be knocked out. Chelsea, currently 2nd in the Premiership, knocked off Juventus, 2nd in Serie A, 2-2 thanks to the precious away goal by Didier Drogba.
Arsenal, currently 5th in the Premiership, knocked off AS Roma, 6th in Serie A, on penalty kicks in Rome.
Liverpool, 3rd in the Premiership, pounded powerhouse Real Madrid, 2nd in the Primera Division, 5-0 on aggregate after the 4-0 whoopin at Anfield.
Finally and certainly not least, Manchester United, best in the world, put the Special One in his place by knocking out Inter, 1st in Serie A, 2-0 at Old Trafford.
The thing that elevates Enlgand even higher is the fact that this exact same scenario took place last year. The same exact 4 squads made up half of the Quarterfinals. Unfortunately they were denied the opportunity to make up the entire semis when Arsenal and Liverpool were drawn to play each other. Hopefully the draw this year will be different and avoid all England matchups thus giving the Premiership the opportunity to further embarrass the rest of the soccer world.
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