The Liga BBVA continues to reign supreme in Europe

The Liga BBVA is once again the strongest division in Europe. Last season’s UEFA Champions League final was an all-Spanish affair, with Real Madrid overcoming Atlético Madrid. Additionally, Sevilla FC were proclaimed champions of the UEFA Europa League. This statement is self evident yet again by taking a glance at the teams through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, with the Liga BBVA boasting the biggest presence in this phase of the competition. The first team to seal its place among the eight best teams in the UEFA Champions League was Real Madrid. After beating FC Schalke 04 0-2 in the first leg, the reigning champions struggled in the Santiago Bernabéu, where the Germans won 3-4, however, despite that hiccup los blancos can still defend their European crown.

Their neighbours, Atlético Madrid, joined them in the quarters a week later. Having lost 1-0 in the BayArena in the first leg, los rojiblancos managed to beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Diego Pablo Simeone’s charges defeated their Bundesliga rivals 1-0 in the Vicente Calderón. With the score remaining unchanged throughout extra time, Atleti secured their passage to the next round by winning the first European penalty shootout in the club’s history.

Finally, FC Barcelona reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night. Los culés, who were pitted against Manchester City FC, came back from England with a 1-2 victory under their belts, thanks to a Luis Suárez brace. In the Camp Nou the Barcelona won again thanks to a goal of Ivan Rakitić.

As such, the Liga BBVA will have the largest presence in Friday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw, with three teams. Following the Spanish topflight as the second most represented league is Ligue 1, with two teams (Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco FC). Making up the rest of the divisions represented at this stage of the competition are the Bundesliga (FC Bayern München), Serie A (Juventus) and the Primeira Liga (FC Porto).

Eight teams exited the competition after the round of 16 stage. The worst affected divisions, losing three representatives each, were the Premier League (Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC and Manchester City) and the German Bundesliga (FC Schalke 04, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund). The remaining championships to have clubs eliminated during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 were the Ukrainian League (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) and the Swiss League (FC Basel 1893).