This week marks the second week of the second leg matches for the Champions League round of 16. Real Madrid was the first Spanish team to get through to the quarters, with another 2-0 win over Roma, albeit an unconvincing one. Atlético Madrid won on aggregate after surviving a 0-0 draw against PSV Eindhoven Tuesday. Barcelona is the last team to play their second leg, but they have not lost a match since October, are up 2-0, and will be playing in the friendly confines of the Camp Nou. Basically, it's a done deal they will be joining the Madrid teams in the quarterfinals.

Real Madrid have had a heavily documented tumultuous 2015-16 season, and even club legend Zinedine Zidane patrolling the sidelines has not been able to provoke a crescendo in their play. In fact they probably should have ended their match with Roma in a draw if not a loss, as Roma and Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah in particular blew their chances to go up in the first half on Madrid. Both Dzeko and Salah had clear chances one-on-one with Madrid goalkeeper Keylo Navas but shot wide.

Madrid struggled to get much offense going for much of the first hour of play, until Cristiano Ronaldo opened the home team's account, driving home an expert cross from Lucas Silva in the 64th minute. Colombian James Rodriguez put another one through Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny's legs for the second. Even with a clean sheet and a supremely in-form Ronaldo, Madrid have not produced a convincing win against a semi-decent opponent in months. Even Las Palmas nearly came away with points in their match Sunday, with a late goal from Casemiro rescuing them from an embarrassing result. 

Atlético Madrid are producing similar wins, the only difference being is, that is exactly their  style. Playing gritty pressure-filled soccer, they have no problems winning by the skin of their teeth, as they did Tuesday.

Barcelona meanwhile, are the best club team in the world without a doubt. They don't even need to have all their starters on the pitch in order to pull out a comfortable win. Fact is, Barcelona is too well coached, too talented, and too disciplined in their approach to fail due to anything other than shooting themselves in the foot.  

Probably the bigger news is La Liga's dominance in the Champions League the past few years. We have seen three teams in the last two finals, and these three are consistently in the final eight or four remaining the past three years. It shows just how top heavy the Spanish league is.

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Photo: Flickr/Nazionale Calcio