Quarter-final quartet shows top flight can be dominant force in Europe again

WATCH out, the English are coming.

While Brexit looms large, the Premier League is doing its best to dominate Europe with a remarkable turnaround in Champions League fortunes. There are four English clubs in today’s quarter-final draw for the first time in 10 years, a throwback to the decade when the Premier League ruled. No English team has won the competition since Chelsea in 2012, and not one reached the last eight in 2013 and 2015, when they were performing so badly there was a threat of losing one of the four places. Now, bookies make an English g s winner w e odds odds-on. o . Manchester City are outrig outright favourites, with sta stats giving a 39 per cent cen chance of a Premier Premi League team lifting the th trophy. There is als also a 66 per cent chanc chance of an all- English Englis quarter-final.

The big question is why there has been a resurgence of Englis English football, overtaking overtakin the recent dom dominance nance of Spain. There are ar several factors. factor One is clear clearly Pep Guardiola’s City. They raised the bar with their record- breaking Premier League season.

Biggest points tally ever, most wins, most consecutive wins and biggest title-winning margin. They are doing it again this time – top scorers in the Champions League and winning by six goals or more seven times across all competitions this season.

They also have Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice while in charge of Barcelona, has European experience and was brought to City for that reason. It is the third time in four seasons City have reached the last eight.

The knock- on effect is it pushes the rest. Liverpool were the first club to break the £ 100million profit barrier having reached the Champions League final in May and that allowed them to build a stronger squad.

Now they have a world-class keeper in Alisson to go with their world-class centre-half Virgil van Dijk, while keeping last year’s top scorer Mo Salah was never an issue.

Manchester United have the pedigree and history and a boss in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to remind the players of that.

Tottenham came close to a group-stage exit and, despite what Mauricio Pochettino says, the

Premi ier e r League ue has also tried to o play its part. t.

Not postponing matches as they do o in France or playing them on a Friday as in Germany, ny, but at least trying to ensure teams in the competition competiplay play TV games on a Saturday ay rather than a Sunday.

Spurs rs and Liverpool could not do o so recently as the fixtures s were planned before the Champions ampions League draw.

But the chaos of recent seasons ns has been diluted.

It does oes leave the he a rm - cha ir r viewer r w i t h

Snooze e Sunday rather than Super Sunday, but is done to help the he clubs.

Fur thermore, player play e r development pment is good enough to persuade suade Bundesliga clubs to try to o sign the best Premier League e youngsters.

Football tball tends to go in cycles. . Germany is on a downward ward spiral spiral, England on the up.

The long- term aim is to remain consistent, as Spain has done down the years. That is the hallmark of success.