Not a bad day for English clubs in the Champions League. The last round of the league phase is completed.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa finished in the top 8, meaning they're going directly to the next stage without having to participate in the play-offs. This is a success particularly for Villa, who beat Celtic 4-2 today and grabbed the last, 8th place in the direct promotion zone.
Yes, this is an undoubted success and an indicator of the strength of the Premier League teams, because it's one thing just to be among the participants in the playoffs, and it's quite another thing to be among the chosen eight, who are spared the need to go through an additional stage and pay more attention to domestic competitions. Other leagues can't even boast a couple of teams in the top eight, limiting themselves to just one representative each, including countries like, not surprisingly, Spain, Italy or Germany.