I have to admit that in the last year or two, Manchester City is indeed the strongest team in Europe, and there is no need to add one. If everyone used to think that Manchester City was an upstart and had no background, then last season's treble blocked the mouths of doubters. The team that can win the treble is, of course, absolutely dominant. Therefore, when the draw results for the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League came out, although everyone agreed that the battle between Real Madrid and Manchester City was a real Mars collision with the earth, and the final was held in advance, deep down, I am afraid that I still prefer Manchester City. After all, last season's 4:0 was too damaging for Real Madrid.
But feng shui takes turns, and this time Real Madrid had the last laugh. Although the process is tortuous and thrilling, the result is the most important thing. Of course, for Manchester City, the gap is a bit bigger. After all, they won the treble last season, and this season, they didn't even make it to the last four. Although the opponent is Real Madrid, Manchester City's regret can still make others feel the same.
It is worth mentioning that after being eliminated by Real Madrid, Manchester City has a Champions League statistic, but it still failed to surpass Manchester United and Chelsea, which are also Premier League teams.
Let's start with the Champions League restructuring and expansion. In the 24 years of the new century, the Champions League has expanded in scale and fierce competition. In the past, there were very few teams participating in the Champions League, and only league champions were allowed to participate, but since the new century, the Champions League is actually the equivalent of the World Cup at the club level, with 32 teams competing and a total of 13 games to play if they want to win the title. In fact, there is no need to take winning the championship as the only criterion to measure the strength of the team, and reaching the semi-finals is already very powerful, especially since it has reached the semi-finals for several consecutive years.
In this regard, Real Madrid's stats are unmatched. They started the 10-11 season and reached the semi-finals in 8 consecutive seasons. This is followed by Barcelona and Bayern. In this regard, the Premier League's stats are a bit worse, with only Manchester United and Chelsea reaching the last four in three consecutive seasons. It was also the glory of both teams, and it was also the era when the Premier League changed from Manchester United's Arsenal rivalry to Manchester United's Chelsea rivalry.
In recent years, the Premier League has represented Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League. But Liverpool's stability and consistency are clearly not as good as Manchester City's. Because, Manchester City has reached the last four of the Champions League for three consecutive seasons since the beginning of the 20-21 season. Therefore, as of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Manchester City has reached the same level as Manchester United and Chelsea in the number of consecutive semi-finals. If they knock out Real Madrid this time, they will become the first Premier League team in Champions League history to reach the last four of the Champions League for four consecutive seasons.
But the result: Manchester City still failed to make history, and they missed their chance in front of Real Madrid.
However, we can also see that the competition in the Premier League is fierce. The most competitive team in the Premier League has been dubbed the big6, but with the speed of the rise of the Premier League's upstarts, the big6 seems to be unable to satisfy. For example, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, these teams are not bad at competitive. So, every few years, the Premier League teams that are active in the Champions League will change. In the first decade of the new century, it was Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and in the last decade or so, Manchester City has risen strongly, and Tottenham can also reach the Champions League final. Obviously, the competition in the Premier League is unmatched by other leagues.
From this point of view, Real Madrid have reached the last four of the Champions League for eight consecutive seasons, and their fans are naturally satisfied, but for La Liga, it is a little boring.