http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/the-match/60/post/3420373/premier-league-reality-check-in-champions-league-tottenham-man-united-chelsea-crash-out

"So much for the Premier League planting its flag deep in the Champions League landscape ...

"For all of the money in English football, it cannot buy game management, nous and experience at the highest level, and the second legs of the round of 16 have highlighted the Premier League deficit in those areas...

"Since Chelsea became the last English team to win the competition in 2012, the Premier League has had had only six representatives in the quarterfinals. During the same period, La Liga has had 18, with the Bundesliga providing 10...

"Are City and Liverpool really good enough and, more important, smart enough, to beat the likes of Real, Barca and Bayern this season? That is the real issue for the English clubs and we are about to discover whether they really can live up to the hype or if this is destined to be another season of disappointment."