With the final Europa League games all finished, the final lineups are decided for the UEFA competitions and their quarter final stages.
Villareal lost to Marseille despite a valiant second leg effort against Marseille, but Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid all went through, giving Spain a final count of 3 teams remaining.
That’s fewer than England with 5, and Italy with 4. The battle for an extra Champions League place goes on, and a lot will depend on te draw which takes place later this morning, but there’s no doubt that Spain face an uphill battle.
It’s not just numbers against them. Atletico and Barcelona look pretty limited teams, and almost every other side left in the Champions League look pretty deadly.
Even Real Madrid, for all their quality, look to have taken a step back from their absolute peak – although given their record you’d be mad to ever write them off completely.
