By Beaker

Maybe Latin and Mediterranean nations hold the World Cup and Euro title, but English sides continue to flourish at the international club level.

After the first leg in Champions League round of 16 play, EPL teams came away with three wins a draw. Arsenal edged out Roma 1-0 thanks to a Robin von Persie penalty conversion, Liverpool defeated Real Madrid by the same score and Chelsea hung on for a 1-0 win over Juventus. Inter Milan and Manchester United played to a scoreless draw.

Liverpool clearly sits prettiest having scored an away goal victory in Spain. The other three are less clear. AS Roma is only down a goal to Arsenal heading back to Rome. However, their play wasn’t inspiring and their lack of finish to bury teams remains a concern. Francesco Totti has yet to carry Roma in tournament play.

The only good thing about Inter Milan is they didn’t concede an away goal. As usual, Inter finds a way to disappoint - though I don’t think they played that badly. Still, it was hard to figure out Inter’s state of mind as they literally came to a stand still around the 18 meter area on a number of occassions. If not for the tireless play of Julio Caesar, Zanetti and Cambiasso it’s possible Inter goes back to Old Trafford down a goal or two.

The only way they have a shot in England is if their best players play like their best players and this begins with Zlatan Ibrahimovich. Once and for all Inter has to stop talking and seize their moment - if they believe they have one. You can bet Cristiano Ronaldo will cause problems. Who will step up for Inter?

Despite the draw, they get a small advantage since they can pass through with a 1-1 draw. But their play (and confidence) will have to improve substantially to defeat a splendid side like United. Manchester is on the cusp of perhaps becoming a dynasty and quite frankly they deserve it.

Juventus probably played the best of the Italian trio and can head back to Turin with a reasonable belief to be able to overcome Chelsea.

Nonetheless, whatever the possibilities, one gets the feeling the edge belongs to the EPL.

The problem with Italian teams, as far as I can observe, is that their style and tactics are built for Serie A and not easily transferable to major tournaments anymore. In the 1990s, they dominated the continent because they had the best talent to make the transition work: What worked for Serie A worked in the tournaments. I could be wrong.

Now, they don’t have all the best players and this clearly shows in their struggles. Of course, this is the cycle we operate in. In a decade from now, we’ll probably be saying the same thing of English teams. Again, I could be wrong.

The irony of course, is that the development of Italian (and Spanish) national players remains strong. In fact, probably stronger than in England. Moreover, the erosion of Serie A dominance coincides with a new refreshing style of play taking place in Italy. Teams like Genoa, Atalanta and Cagliari all play open attacking soccer these days. The league itself is probably as exciting as it’s ever been.

All this can reverse itself. This is sports and anything can happen. That being written, personally, I’m just going to enjoy this for what it is.

The sun has not set just yet on Britain after all.