In each of the past three seasons LaLiga has walked away with the Champions League title, twice in all-Spanish finals. In the Europa League it reads even better for LaLiga’s representatives as they’ve won four of the last five and, like its bigger brother the Champions League, has claimed the title three seasons in a row. There can be no doubt as to which league is the strongest, or performs the strongest, in Europe’s top two competitions.

The original argument against LaLiga’s success was the amount of money available to the top two sides. Real Madrid and Barcelona have extensive budgets and regularly attract the best players from around the world to join their stable of superstars and thus extend their stay at the top. However, in the past couple of seasons, the spending power of the Premier League has trumped those of Spain’s ‘big two’, yet the gap remains as great as ever.

[PSG V BARCA – EL SACKICO IN THE MAKING]

[BENZEMA MAKES HISTORY AS REAL MADRID SEE OFF NAPOLI]

Perhaps beyond that, and ignoring the fact Atletico Madrid have also made two Champions League finals in the past three seasons, is the outstanding form of Spanish sides in the Europa League. Sevilla have claimed three Europa titles in a row and their incredible run will only come to an end this season because they aren’t participating in the competition. Last season saw Liverpool become the only foreign side to knock out Spanish opposition, the rest were eliminated by fellow LaLiga outfits.

Yet in the face of this utter dominance there might be hope for everyone else due to the increased competitiveness in LaLiga this term. So often ignorantly dismissed as a poor league beyond the main two, this season has seen the likes of Sevilla and Real Sociedad join the group challenging for the league. Villarreal have stuttered of late but that has given hope to Athletic Club as well as the rise of plucky Eibar in the fight for the Europa League slots.

Tuesday night saw Barcelona decimated by Paris Saint German in a similar fashion to what Real Betis did to them only a few weeks ago. The difference was the quality of PSG’s finishing more than anything else but it was a warning sign that this Barcelona team is no longer the all conquering giants we’ve seen in the past. The issues at the Catalan club stem from decisions taken in the boardroom but it’s a club that has lost its identity and one which has been carried by an incredible front three, Andres Iniesta when available and Gerard Pique trying to hold the entire defence together by himself.

Last season the same front three were good enough to claim a league and cup double but not the Champions League, although it was once again a fellow LaLiga side which knocked them out: Atletico Madrid. They tried to throw money at the issues in midfield and so far it hasn’t worked. We’ve become accustomed to Lionel Messi producing a 30-minute spell of excellence and making the difference but, with Iniesta unfit, PSG did a fantastic job of suffocating the little Argentinian’s influence. Messi was made to look ordinary which doesn’t happen very often.

With the greatest respect to Real Betis, if they could find holes in this Barcelona team, it was only a matter of time before a bigger side did too.

Real Madrid’s unbeaten run has seen them remain in top spot for practically the entire season. It rightly earned plaudits from fans around the world but when that streak came to an end, their lead wasn’t insurmountable. They dropped points along the way as the smaller, lesser sides have stronger squads and more belief.

Injuries forced Zinedine Zidane’s hand and he’s been unable to rotate as much as Barcelona have, but whenever he has, it’s weakened his side considerably. They’ve got two games in hand but only sit eight points ahead of fifth-placed Real Sociedad. The competition have raised their game.

Atletico Madrid are rightly considered the third biggest side in LaLiga after two Champions League final appearances, a LaLiga title and a Copa del Rey triumph under Diego Simeone in the last four years. But they too have fallen victim to the rapid improvement of sides in the Spanish league. Built upon a strong, rigid defence they’ve now conceded as many goals in this season’s campaign as they did in the entire 2015/16 one. LaLiga’s other sides, without the need to rotate, have taken advantage of the opportunities handed to them.

So is the strength of LaLiga hurting the country’s chances in Europe? Well, it would seem so.

Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo have found the going tough in Europe this term. The group stages are viewed as inconvenient as opposed to difficult but all three finished second in their respective four-team groups. Villarreal were sitting in fourth place this time last season but now find themselves in sixth. Bilbao are two places down compared to last year and sit in eighth while Celta are down in tenth, three places below their position in the previous campaign.

In previous seasons you would’ve considered Real Madrid overwhelming favourites against Napoli – last term the Italian club was knocked out of the Europa League by Villarreal in the Round of 32. Yet despite Madrid possessing a very strong squad, and playing at home, a lot of fans seemed happy to take a draw ahead of the return leg in Italy. It’s a sign of that aura of invincibility Spanish teams had beginning to fade. In the end, after a shaky start, Madrid’s class shone through but at 3-1 the tie is far from over.

Sevilla are confident ahead of playing Leicester City next week but they’re also cautious. They know, in terms of form, they’re a much stronger side than the Foxes but for Claudio Ranieri’s men the Champions League is a welcome relief from their domestic troubles. If they can take the tie back to England with the scores level, or losing by a single goal, they’ll believe a victory is possible. For Sevilla the nerves will be there as they look to shake off their Europa League kings tag and prove they’re worthy of winning the Champions League too.

For Atletico, they’re the only side who have seemingly prioritised Europe over league success. Experiments galore have been conducted in LaLiga with attacking formations used to try and make them more clinical but it’s produced mixed results and left their defence weaker. They’ll take comfort from Barcelona’s defeat and Real Madrid’s tricky match against Napoli, believing this to be the year they can finally claim Europe’s premier trophy.

Barcelona’s beatdown shook the footballing world but the indications of it being a lot more difficult for Spanish sides this term were evident before their loss on Tuesday. No doubt any weaknesses at the top will be adjusted in the summer, whether that be with reinforcements or a change in coach, so if ever there was a chance for Europe’s other leagues to take advantage and break Spain’s stranglehold, this is it.