everythingchangesbutblue said:
Kerry bai said:
I always find it odd when people claim La Liga is all cannon fodder while the EPL has amazing strength throughout, yet the Spanish teams keep winning the Europa league and more often than not they keep schooling the English sides.
A poster above said the most dangerous thing about Villarrael was there Yellow kit, yet they would be better than many English sides. Does everyone remember Bilbao vs the red of Manchester a few years back? They destroyed them. Atletico last year put away Chelsea with ease and this Barcelona side have beaten them 3 times.
I expect a close game, Barca are far too reliant on Messi. If he can be contained then anything can happen. In defence they are hit and miss, sometimes Pique looks world class, sometimes he looks like he's thinking about his missus. Suarez is struggling in Spain as the game there is often more technical, he's used to the fast pace of the EPL which gave him more space, space he is not afford in Spain so perhaps a game in England will suit him. Neymar meanwhile looks fatigued, he should have been rested in one of the last 2 La Liga rounds.
Over the 2 legs Barca should advance but it's not set in stone.
The English sides hardly bother with the europa league unless they get to a semi final. Kids and reserves mostly until then.
Yep, when it comes to the Champions League which everyone takes seriously, we could easily put out 5 or 6 sides that would realistically aim to make an impact on the competition (Liverpool being the horribly underperforming exception this season). Despite the recent phenomenon of Atletico and the one season wonder of Malaga, Spain has tended to put out the obvious 2 in recent years and the rest take the exit door at the first opportunity.
With regards to the rest of La Liga, even King David - despite currently working in La Liga and so being under pressure to gush about it as part of the league president's marketing push - admitted "
the bottom half of the Spanish league is not as strong as the Premier League". If you have ever watched a Levante v Elche type fixture you'd have to agree.
While La LIga's elite clubs have undoubtedly outperformed their English counterparts in recent seasons, I fail to believe that when England is bringing across last season's La Liga champion's best two players in the transfer window this is an indication of unarguable current superiority; the days of Nanis, Kalous and Podolskis spearheading the top English clubs' Champions League charges are fading.
