The Prague Post - English giants dominate line-up for Champions League last-16 draw

The Premier League's financial might has not always translated into dominance in continental competition, with no English club featuring in the last two Champions League finals.

There has been an English winner of Europe's elite club competition just twice in the last six seasons, and just three times in the last 13 years.

One argument put forward for such a relative lack of success in the Champions League given the financial strength of England's top flight is the intense competitive nature of their domestic league.

That can sap energy from teams late in the season, while the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain often have such a margin over rivals within their own countries that they can be fresher going into crunch Champions League knockout ties.

But English clubs now have such a margin over most of their continental rivals that they cruised through the league phase of this season's Champions League and their shadow looms large over the rest of Europe.

Five Premier League teams -- Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City -- finished in the top eight to secure direct progress to the last 16.

Newcastle finished 12th and then crushed Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the knockout phase play-offs, winning 9-3 on aggregate.

In 29 games against opponents from the other leading European leagues in Spain, Germany, Italy and France, English clubs lost just six times.

- Rich get richer -

The primary reason for the Premier League's dominance is its overwhelming financial power, and it just keeps getting richer compared with every other league.

A report published Thursday by UEFA showed that television revenue for English top-flight clubs increased by 1.5 billion euros ($1.77 billion) between 2014 and 2024.

Over the same period the combined TV revenue increase across clubs from the 53 other European top-division leagues was 1.6 billion euros.

Across the last decade the total revenue of English top-flight teams has increased by 3.5 billion euros, while the combined increase across the Spanish, German, Italian and French top tiers was 5.9 billion euros.

Fifteen of the 30 richest clubs in the world in analysts Deloitte's latest Football Money League are from the Premier League.

The rest of Europe simply cannot keep up off the pitch and they can no longer keep up on it, with the physicality of the Premier League overwhelming against weaker continental rivals.

"They had more intensity, technique and pace," said Inter Milan boss Cristian Chivu after losing to Arsenal last month.

"I won't point out how much money they spent, as that would be too obvious, but the Premier League does have a very different type of intensity and pace to Italian football."

Inter, beaten finalists last season, are out after a stunning loss to Bodo/Glimt of Norway, meaning Atalanta are the only Italian team left in the competition.

Spain is represented in the last 16 by the big three of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, while Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen remain from Germany.

Reigning champions PSG are France's sole survivors, with Turkish giants Galatasaray, Sporting of Portugal and Bodo/Glimt completing the line-up.

The question now is how many Premier League sides will make the quarter-finals, with Newcastle against Chelsea the only possible all-English tie in the last 16.

Champions League last 16 line-up:

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)/Newcastle United (ENG) v Chelsea (ENG)/Barcelona (ESP)

Galatasaray (TUR)/Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Liverpool (ENG)/Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Real Madrid (ESP)/Bodo/Glimt (NOR) v Manchester City (ENG)/Sporting (POR)

Atalanta (ITA)/Bayer Leverkusen (GER) v Arsenal (ENG)/Bayern Munich (GER)

J.Simacek--TPP