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Were the results of Premier League clubs in Europe this week a major shock?

Simon Gleave said: "Manchester City were drawn against the number two team in the world (Real Madrid). They were still favourites (59-41 according to our model) but this was the toughest draw they could have had.

"Arsenal's tie was basically 50/50 and, according to our ranking before the first legs, Bayern was the toughest opponent they could have had other than City and Real."

Rob

Darren in Nottingham

Anon

A polite reminder to put your name and where you are from on texts and WhatsApp messages please.

The teams are tired or not sharp at this stage of the season. The Premier League is so demanding. To come up with a conclusion, give me five years. This could be a consequence of a bunch of things.

If it happens for five years maybe there's a problem somewhere. I don't think you'll get that. I think you'll get the dominance of English teams that we've already seen will continue next season. This is an accident I think.

One argument for England failing to have any semi-finalists in the top two European competitions is that profit and sustainability rules are holding back English sides.

At present, clubs cannot report losses of more than £105m over a three-year period - meaning clubs such as Newcastle, who were in the Champions League this season, cannot spend the money they have.

Everton and Nottingham Forest have both been deducted points for breaching the rules.

Speaking after Wednesday's Champions League games, BBC football correspondent John Murray said: "[Premier League teams] have become the traditional powerbase so this is a shock to the system.

"We've been hearing for years that part of the reason we have profit and sustainability and financial fair play is because of the power of so many Premier League teams. They have attempted to clip their wings. Has that played a part this season and meaning they're not as strong as they might have been? Probably."

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes the intensity of the Premier League may be a reason for the struggles endured by Premier League clubs in Europe this week.

The Reds were knocked out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage after a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Italian side Atalanta.

West Ham were also knocked out of the competition by the same aggregate scoreline against Bayer Leverkusen with Aston Villa's penalty shootout win over Lille in the Conference League.

Those results came on the back of Manchester City and Arsenal crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday.

“[The Premier League] is the best league in the world,” Klopp said. “I watch a lot of football and when you watch the leagues, whatever other league, Italy improved a lot over the years and back to its best pretty much, Spain is obviously fantastic, Bundesliga is there, France, everywhere they play good football.

“But the Premier League is the most intense league, definitely. Besides Aston Villa, I think all [English] teams are out in the quarter-finals. Without me saying it, maybe someone writes an article about that.”

Danny in Halewood

Steve

Liverpool fan Lauren Black: "It was good to get that early goal but I think the first leg sealed it for Atalanta. It was always going to be a tough job. Getting that early penalty gave us a bit of hope but in the end we couldn't really get much more out of it.

"That hasn't really been the story of our season. We've been better in the second half [of games] for the majority of the season but it looked like we ran out of ideas towards the end. That's the same as what happened last week [against Atalanta] and on Sunday [against Crystal Palace].

"I'm not quite sure where they'll go from here. There's a few big games coming up for us now so we need to get out of this little rut and try to get some points on the board."

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Pedro from down south

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said that he was 'disappointed but not angry' after what is his last European game in charge of the Reds as he is leaving the club at the end of the season.

Liverpool fans hoped he would bow out with four trophies this season and so far they've won the League Cup. And despite being knocked out of the FA Cup and now the Europa League, they are still very much in the Premier League title race.

They and Arsenal go into the weekend two points behind leaders Manchester City, with six games to play.

"It is a tough period and it has to be tough," said Klopp. "Three teams are going for the Premier League. If that would be easy then something would be wrong."

The Premier League, with its teams backed by billions of pounds, have become stronger and stronger over recent years - to the stage where it would be hard to question it being the best league in the world.

Ten of the 12 biggest transfer fees spent by European clubs since 2020 have been English sides - with England duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane the other two.

Thirteen of the top 20 teams with the highest net spend (transfer money spent minus transfer money received) over the past decade are English, with teams like Crystal Palace and Bournemouth outspending Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

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Dave

Sure, Liverpool spent big fees on Alisson and Virgil van Dijk but as you'll see on the next post, even the likes of West Ham and Aston Villa had a higher net spend from 2014-2023.

And finally from David Moyes, the West Ham boss gave an update on George Earthy.

The 19-year-old midfielder has left hospital following further assessment on the head injury he suffered against Fulham on Sunday.

Earthy collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez shortly after coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat and received medical attention for about seven minutes before being carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital.

"He's great," said Moyes. "He was in the other day. He looks fine, but he's going through the [concussion] protocols. He won't be available on Sunday."

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Here's some more reaction to yesterday's FA Cup news, as the Football Association and Premier League have been accused of "a total lack of respect for the football pyramid".

Replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024-25 and all rounds of the competition will be played on weekends.

League Two club Tranmere Rovers said they "condemn the disgraceful" changes.

Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony warned it could lead to a "fallout within English football".

Click here for more.

On Thursday's news that FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards from next season, West Ham boss David Moyes added: "I think the football schedule is too full, and I think something has to give somewhere. I'm not saying this is the thing that has to give, but I think something has to loosen up a bit.

"The moving of the final - it's more to do with the amount of games. There's so much football. Next year I don't think there's a winter break either, so we have to start thinking about the way it's going. It's a squeeze on football all over the world at the moment."

West Ham boss David Moyes on a determination to qualify for Europe again next season: "We'd love to do it again. We did by winning a trophy last year. This year our league position has improved. We know the level of the opponents, so it will be tough. We'll have played 10 or 12 games more than anyone else.

"If we can get back to Europe that would be great. It's a difficult programme for any teams in the Europa League or Europa Conference so we have to get ready for one more Sunday game."

The Hammers are currently eighth in the Premier League, two points behind Newcastle and Manchester United, who both have a game in hand.

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West Ham boss David Moyes has given a few more team news updates at his news conference ahead of their Crystal Palace.

"I've not had a chance to assess Nayef Aguerd. He rolled his ankle. He and Konstantinos Mavropanos are both getting checked before Sunday.

"Emerson and Lucas Paqueta were suspended so they will come back into contention, and Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola will be checked."

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Julian Nagelsmann has spoken about his decision to sign a contract extension to coach Germany beyond Euro 2024.

"This is a decision of the heart. It is a great honour to be able to train the national team and work with the best players in the country," he told the German FA website., external

"With successful, passionate performances we have the chance to inspire an entire country.

"The two wins against France and the Netherlands in March really touched me. We want to play a successful home European Championship together and I'm really looking forward to it together with my coaching team."

With Julian Nagelsmann having previously been on a short-term contract to cover the Euros, which Germany will host, Jurgen Klopp was rumoured to be a potential successor as Germany coach as he is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.

So what now for Klopp? Do you expect the German boss to take a break for at least a season? When and where will the 56-year-old return to management? And what does this announcement mean for Germany heading into the Euros?

Let us know your thoughts via the usual channels above.

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Some breaking news.

Julian Nagelsmann, who has been linked with a managerial switch to the Premier League, has signed a contract extension to remain as head coach of Germany.

Nagelsmann, 36, took over from Hansi Flick last September but only signed a short-term deal until after Euro 2024 this summer.

His new deal runs until the conclusion of the next World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

West Ham boss David Moyes speaking at a news conference about Jarrod Bowen struggling with a back injury: "I've not seen him yet today. Jarrod was really touch and go going into last night's game, and it took an injection for him to play. We'll have to see how he is ahead of Sunday.

"You always want your big players to be available. If we have them all we always have a good chance of getting a result."