Misadventures in the Euro zone

The business end of the Champions League has been less sweet 16 and more a knockout for England’s elite this week, another chastening trial for the self-styled ‘greatest league in the world’. 

And, not for the first time in recent years, we were assured ahead of kick-off Manchester City were more experienced and more Euro-wise than before, while Arsenal, theoretically the beneficiaries of the most kindly of draws, were almost unanimously tipped to break on through to the other side after slamming up against the wall at this stage four times on the trot.

The ties aren’t over yet and, as Man United showed in 1999 and Liverpool demonstrated in even more improbable style in 2005, English clubs in Europe, even at the 11th hour, have a wee bit of form in upsetting the odds.