adminLONDON. — The English Premier League can attract mega riches from global broadcasters, but first Manchester City and now Arsenal have proved to be poor ambassadors for the self-proclaimed best league in the world in the Champions League soccer this week.Richard Scudamore, the league’s chief executive, complained the loudest when plans for a winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022 were announced on Tuesday claiming the “integrity” of his competition would be harmed by a mid-season break.
But City and Arsenal jointly combined to undermine his claims of grandeur with damaging defeats in the first legs of the knock-out stage of the competition.
After Manchester City capitulated for the second successive season to Barcelona by losing 2-1 at home on Tuesday, Arsenal were exposed as “naive”, according to manager Arsene Wenger, against a superbly-organised, but far from spectacular AS Monaco who won 3-1 in north London.
Both could yet turn their ties around but on the evidence of their first leg performances, that is highly unlikely.
No team in Uefa’s elite competition has overturned a two-goal first leg home defeat and progressed since Ajax Amsterdam did that against Benfica after winning a play-off in 1969.
Chelsea, the last English team to win the Champions League in 2012, have the best chance of progressing to the quarter-finals after securing a 1-1 draw at Paris St Germain with the second leg at Stamford Bridge to be played on March 11.
Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all made it into the last 32 of the Europa League, which was completed yesterday, and none are likely to be demolished in quite the same way that Arsenal were on Wednesday. — AFP.
Online Reporter