Man City vs Liverpool: Was UEFA Fair To England In The Quarterfinals Draw?

The draws for the 2017/2018 Champions League quarterfinals is out with two English teams (Manchester City and Liverpool) billed to meet each other even though they are the only two teams left from England in the tournament, with the draws leading to lots of reactions from English fans in Nigeria. The issue of the draw being unfair to England also came up, particularly as three Spanish teams (Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla) all reached the quarterfinal stage and yet none had the opportunity to meet each other. While two Italian teams (Juventus and Roma) also reached the quarterfinal stage and would face two of the Spanish (Real Madrid and Barcelona) to determine if they would continue in the championship. The fact must be said, and the fact remains that five English teams (Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham) all reached the Round of 16 of the Champions League, giving England an edge ahead of others to reach the quarterfinal stage in large number and also making them the team with highest representatives.

It was ordinarily expected that at least three of these teams should have progressed to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, giving them an opportunity to have at least two teams progress to the quarterfinal stage. But unfortunately, three of their teams where sent packing of which two left in the hands of Spanish teams. The fact is that Manchester United's exit from the Champions League in the hands of Sevilla following a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford was a big shock to fans, Nigerian-English fans, and bookmakers. Bookmakers would have tipped United ahead of the Spanish side before their meetings, based on experience and pedigree in the tournament. Finally, having Manchester City and Liverpool meet in the quarterfinal stage is a guaranteed way of ensuring that at least one English team gets to the semifinal stage of the tournament, as no one can even tell going by United's performance if both Liverpool and Manchester City would have been able to survive if they had met any of the other big teams left in the tournament.