Barcelona beat AC Milan, comfortably in the end, 3-1, and now meet Chelsea, a game they will expect to win. Real Madrid have a tougher test when they face Bayern Munich, whom they have a history with. Bayern will play at home in the final if they win, but you would still expect Real to come through and reach the final.
What has been less noticed though, is the very real prospect that La Liga will have all four finalists in the continent’s two major club competitions. Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are all in with a shout of the Europa League final. Indeed, Valencia may be third, but Atletico are seventh and Athletic 11th.
This shows the Spanish league’s strength in depth and casts a new light on La Liga. Many say that the dominance of Barcelona and Madrid shows that it is a weak league. Another way to look at it is to say that if they have two teams in the final of the Europa League who are mid table in Spain, that shows just how good Barcelona and Madrid have to be to dominate in the way they do.
It is an intriguing prospect too, that of two all Spanish finals this year. It is a marker of just how good Spain’s teams are. England have been well and truly left behind. But it is also a sign of the lack of competitiveness in Spain, that teams need the Europa League to enjoy any success in Europe. Valencia have little chance in the Champions League, such is the dominance of their rivals. But the Europa League is another thing entirely. But then Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, the top three in England for much of this season, have all been in the Europa League this season.
Man City lost to Sporting Lisbon, who are nowhere near Benfica or Porto. And Benfica have just outplayed Chelsea with 10 men in the Champions League. Man Utd were outplayed by Bilbao and they are England’s best team by some distance. And Tottenham? They were beaten by PAOK Salonika.
This is hardly a vintage La Liga. Valencia, in third, are closer in points terms to Racing Santander at the bottom of the league, than Barcelona in second. That shows the problems Spain has. Yet still it is Europe’s best league, and by some distance too. Their biggest teams dominate the Champions League. And then the rest, who are so far behind them domestically, dominate in the Europa League.
