When looking at the results in the past 10 or 15 years, La Liga is arguably the most successful national league in Europe. Teams from this competition dominate on the international stage, and Real’s latest win over Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League is the best proof of that claim.
The UCL final is arguably the most prominent event outside the US and carries the most significance for football fans and punters. Some compare it to the Super Bowl. Though, after analyzing these two spectacles, we must admit that there are more people who bet on UCL finals than those who bet on Super Bowl matchups.
Over the previous three years, Spanish teams didn’t win a single Champions League title, with two heading to England and one to Germany. Their honor was saved in the UEFA Europa League, where Sevilla and Villarreal lifted trophies, reminding everyone that La Liga teams are still playing one of the most important roles in European football.
Yet, Real’s win over Liverpool, and previous eliminations of Manchester City and Chelsea, is something that muted all the stories about the supremacy of the English Premier League and its higher quality over other national championships, especially the Spanish.
Best La Liga Clubs Heading Into the 2022-23 Season
What many want to know now is whether La Liga teams have the power to keep on bringing back international trophies, particularly the UEFA Champions League title. All the other major continental powerhouses began landing sounding names, Haaland went to City, Nunez to Liverpool, Mane to Bayern, and we are sure that there will be even more bombastic transfers throughout the summer.
Real, Barca, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla will represent Spain in the UCL. Of course, the biggest favorite from this assembly to win the title is Real Madrid. They’ve already signed Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco and plan to add a few more big names.
However, the most significant task for Florentino Perez is to keep all the players who are on the roster right now, present throughout the following year. If he manages to do that alone, the Los Blancos will be in an excellent position.
Barcelona recovered following a year of struggle. Not only did they lose Lionel Messi, but Blaugrana almost collapsed in a financial area. The club is still vulnerable but at least isn’t experiencing rough turbulence.
Xavi accelerated Pedri’s and Gavi’s development. One of the best players in history knows how to handle these two boys whose talent is unlimited. Along with them and a couple of new faces he brought, plus other youngsters, Barcelona showed glimpses of its potential, which is incredible. Just remember how they wiped out Real at Santiago Bernabeu in early March, 0-4.
Atletico is one of the nastiest teams to play with, and this year they simply didn’t have luck once suffering an elimination against Man City. They will dig deep in this transfer window to find fresh blood, and add more talent to the already present young core Diego Simeone selected.
At last, we have Sevilla. The most successful team in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, they have a very experienced club with many players in their prime. At one point, it seemed they might interfere in the title race, but they simply didn’t endure Real’s pace.
Who’s the Favorite?
We will say that Real Betis and Real Sociedad have solid chances of winning the UEFA Europa League. The same goes for Villarreal, who is the top favorite for lifting the Europa Conference League title. If we presented their prospects in Super Bowl odds, they would be the New England Patriots with Tom Brady in 2019.
Villarreal won the UEFA Europa League in 2021 and last year reached the semis of the UEFA Champions League. They are coming into the upcoming season with a very strong, almost intact team, meaning that they should be considered the No.1 favorites for the ECL silverware.
All this means that the Spanish teams, that is, La Liga teams, will play essential roles in all three UEFA competitions. Monitoring their progress throughout the season is something anyone can do while they also check out Super Bowl lines. Both, soccer and futbol will be really interesting the next season.
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andym
Founder and chief editor of La Liga Blog, Andy fell in love with Spanish football after a university placement year in the Costa Del Sol. His favourite Tapas is Albondigas and on Saturday afternoons, Andy can regularly be found trying to emulate his hero Carles Puyol for his amateur football team.