This week we reach the Champions League quarter-final stage, and as ever we have some wonderful matches.

But there are no British teams left in the competition, so Gareth Bale and Fiorentina's Micah Richards are Britain’s sole representatives in Europe.

So this is a week when English football fans become just football fans. This is a week when sitting down with a beer on a Tuesday night is simply made better by watching some top class football, not stressing about cheering on your team or hoping your rivals lose. Nor is it fuelled by tactically hoping that your title challengers win on penalties to make sure they are put under the largest amount of mental and physical strain imaginable, and then have to suffer another match.

No, this time we just get to watch Europe’s biggest and brightest battle it out by themselves. We get to sit down and watch Bale and Ronaldo, Messi and Suarez, Muller and Robben strut their stuff on club football’s biggest stage.

And to top it all off, we don’t have to listen to the TV channels hype the game up to the sky.

Isn’t the Champions League just better when there are no English teams in it?

If you need hype in order to sit down and watch Real Madrid face Atletico in Europe, or PSG face Barcelona, then you’re probably watching the wrong sport. It’s as simple as that. But it’s not like the quarter-finals lack intrigue. There’s still plenty to sink your teeth into.

So the juiciest game is probably the Madrid derby. A repeat of last season’s final, the young upstarts from across the city, Atletico, were beaten - late on - by the old-money power of Real Madrid. Atleti managed to win the title, but Madrid won something dearer to their hearts, La Decima - their 10th top European title.

Barcelona are another club long established as a European powerhouse meet another of the young upstarts, the nouveau riche Parisians. But this game is more than just a clash between two brilliant teams from very different backgrounds. This fixture pits Barcelona, probably the epitome of what it means to be a top club right now. That’s because Barca have been so dominant over the last few years, but also because over the last three seasons PSG and Barcelona have met four times, providing intriguing, tight match ups at each reprise.

Barca came out on top in the 2013 quarter-final. They made their sixth straight semi-final that time, and put the Parisians in their place. Albeit on away goals after a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou and a 2-2 draw in Paris.

Barcelona have also disposed of Manchester City this season, and so the old money seems to be keeping the new money in check just for the moment.

Which takes us neatly to another of this round’s ties. Juventus face Monaco in a tie that sees the Monegasque money take on the Old Lady herself. It’s unfair to say that all Monaco are is Russian riches. In fact, after his divorce cost him £2.6bn, Monaco’s Russian owner has pulled some of his funds from the French league side. Understandable really. But they’ve made the final of the competition before, in 2004, so they do have a history of upsetting the established order of things.

Monaco have a wonderful defence this time, and they disposed of Arsenal in the last round, so Juventus should be wary of this as they seek to make their first semi-final since 2003. Perhaps it’s stretching it a bit, then, to call this an established club facing a young upstart.

So there’s still plenty to love about this season’s Champions League, even if there are no English teams in it. Sit back, relax, and watch the drama unfold without stressing one way or the other.

Either that or dust off your Welsh flag and get a cardboard cutout of Micah Richards’s face to show your support for the remnants of Britain’s assault on Europe.

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