Real knocked Man City out of Champions League

Sport Desk: Gareth Bale rampaged into the Manchester City box, pulled the trigger, saw his shot loop off Fernando`s boot into the net and normal service was resumed.

Real Madrid`s slender victory over City in the Champions League semi-final, setting up an all-Spanish final with Atletico, merely continued La Liga`s recent dominion over the Premier League.

As this season has shown, England`s top flight boasts fantastic unpredictability, but when our sides come up against Spain`s finest in European competition, it`s been a real tale of woe lately.

Of the last 18 European knockout ties between the two nations, only one has been won by the English team.

It`s not the best omen ahead of another Anglo-Spanish affair at Anfield on Thursday night as Liverpool take on Villarreal for a place in the Europa League final.

The Yellow Submarine lead 1-0 from the first leg and, in the home city of The Beatles, will be keen to complete the job at Anfield.

This season, aside from Real`s win over City, we had Barcelona thrashing Arsenal 5-1 on aggregate, winning comfortably home and away, in the last 16 of the competition.

Last season, en route to winning the competition, Luis Enrique`s side eliminated Manchester City at the same stage, having also knocked them out 12 months earlier.

There was, of course, that dramatic semi-final between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in 2014 which saw Diego Simeone`s men advance with a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

In 2013, Real Madrid got the better of Manchester United in the last 16 as Cristiano Ronaldo came back to haunt his old employers at Old Trafford after the first leg was drawn in the Bernabeu.

Earlier that season, a Radamel Falcao hat-trick helped Europa League winners Atletico beat Champions League holders Chelsea 4-1 in the Super Cup.

It was 2012 that gave us the one English triumph in this era of Spanish supremacy as Chelsea sensationally overcame Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to reach the Champions League final.

Memories of Fernando Torres racing away to score in stoppage time in the Nou Camp and confirm 10-man Chelsea`s progress remains fresh in the memory.

That year`s Europa League, though, saw Manchester United dumped out by Athletic Bilbao and Stoke City knocked out by Valencia.

The 2010-11 Champions League witnessed Arsenal beaten by Barcelona, Tottenham thrashed by Real Madrid and then United defeated 3-1 by Barca in the Wembley final.

Going further back, Barcelona also beat the Gunners in 2010, the same season Atletico ended the Europa League dreams of Liverpool in the semi-finals and Fulham in the final.

And 2009 saw Barcelona, the ultimate conquerors of Premier League opposition, knock out Chelsea in the semi-finals thanks to Andres Iniesta`s late sucker punch before they beat United 2-0 in the Rome final.

Before that, you start to see some success for English clubs in knockout ties, with Arsenal beating Villarreal and Liverpool seeing off Real Madrid, but the recent past has - mainly - been miserable.

Perhaps Liverpool can start to redress the balance by overcoming their one-goal deficit at Anfield.

Source: agencies.

risingbd/Dhaka/May 5, 2016/Nasim