Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has refuted the popular claim that the Premier League is the best League in Europe or the world.
Ancelotti’s Madrid defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Goals in each half from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio extended Chelsea’s winless run.
In the course his coaching career, Ancelotti has had the opportunity to handle teams in some of the biggest leagues.
And one of such is the Premier League where he took charge Chelsea and Everton.
Speaking in the pre-match conference for Real Madrid’s Laliga clash with Cadiz on Saturday, Ancelotti said:“English football has several highly competitive teams, they’re strong and they have too quality players,” realmadrid.com quoted Ancelotti as saying.
“I’m not surprised the English sides are the favourites, as is the case with Manchester City. You might think there is a gap but European football is showing otherwise.
“Last year two Spanish teams made the Champions League semi-finals and this year, Italian football took three teams to the quarters. European football is more competitive than what it might seem and what the majority are saying, especially the English clubs.
“They believe their league is the strongest and most exciting in the world but in Europe they come up against competitive sides.”
Madrid will be pushing for a record-extending 15th Champions League title in this season’s competition.
And in the Spanish topflight they are currently in second place with 59 points from 28 games.
