Bayer Leverkusen were already out of contention for the knockout stages when the played Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, but held firm to deny Los Colchoneros and their hopes to get through themselves.
The late drama of a missed penalty meant that Xabi Alonso’s side came away with a 2-2 draw against Diego Simeone. After the match he told Marca that he was proud of the character they showed after a tricky start to life at Leverkusen.
One of the stories of the night was the fact that only one of the three Spanish sides would be making it through to the next round. Alonso was asked for his opinion on La Liga’s struggles.
“Evaluating things based off one season is not fair, the growth of other countries is very important and sometimes we focus a lot on Spain, but abroad they are doing things very well. You see the other teams that we play every week and they are at a great level.
“The quality of Spanish football is unquestionable, it is viewed with admiration. This year, the fact that only one out of four has passed means that something has gone wrong, but I won’t get into it, I have enough going on with my own job.”
Although results in the Europa League continue to be good, Spanish sides have undoubtedly declined in recent years in the Champions League. Real Madrid are the only side to have competed regularly against the top sides in recent years and it seems fair to call it a trend rather than just a year at this point.
