The Premier League has marked its return to prominence on the European stage as stunning Champions League comebacks from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to make the final was followed by Arsenal and Chelsea booking their place in the Europa League final.
For the first time ever all four finalists will come fromthe same country, prompting concerns on the continent over the Premier League’swealth and status thanks to huge television rights deals.
The English sweep on the football field comes, ironically,as the United Kingdom wrestles with Brexit, the painful and protractedwithdrawal from the European Union.
Only twice before in European football — the 1972 UEFA Cupand 2008 Champions League — had two English teams contested a final.
But now two will take place in the space of four days asArsenal and Chelsea square off in a London derby, 4,500 km (2,800 miles) fromhome, in Baku on May 29 before Liverpool and Tottenham clash in Madrid on June1.
“A full English,” ran the headline on the back ofBritish newspaper the Daily Mirror, while Spanish sports daily AS said:”Football does not know about Brexit.”
Liverpool, last year’s runners-up to Real Madrid, endedSpain’s five-year grip on the continent’s top club prize as they shocked LionelMessi and Barcelona with a stunning 4-0 win at Anfield to overturn a 3-0 firstleg deficit.Tottenham drew inspiration from the Reds to alsocome back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit as Ajax led 2-0 on the night inAmsterdam before Lucas Moura’s second half hat-trick sent Spurs into theirfirst Champions League final.