"Whereas Spanish clubs used to dominate in Europe - Real Madrid won the competition twice in the past four seasons - this time they lost all but one of 10 meetings against Premier League teams in the group stage. La Liga clubs failed to score in seven matches and were beaten by an aggregate score of 21-5."
"BBC Sport columnist Guillem Balague describes it as "a near-perfect storm" which has been driven by "collective wealth, elite decision-making off the pitch, plus a league environment that forces constant tactical evolution"."
"Balague added: "The Premier League has the biggest budgets, but also professional structures - recruitment departments, data analysis, coaching teams and sporting directors - all working at a level that allows clubs to choose better profiles of players and managers. "There is an advantage even before a ball is kicked""
Six Premier League teams are already guaranteed Champions League last-16 places: Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City, with Newcastle potentially joining after a play-off against Monaco or Qarabag. England is the only country with all nine representatives through to knockout rounds across the three European competitions. Spanish clubs have struggled: only Barcelona are certain of last-16, Atletico and Real face playoffs, while Athletic Club and Villarreal were eliminated. La Liga lost nine of ten group-stage meetings with Premier League teams, failed to score in seven matches and were beaten 21-5 on aggregate. Financial power and advanced off-pitch structures underpin Premier League superiority.
Read at www.bbc.com
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