Belief in British sides Banished.

Liverpool 0-0 SC Braga (0-1 agg.)

Manchester City 1-0 Dynamo Kiev (1-2 agg.)

Rangers 0-1 PSV Eindhoven (0-1 agg.)

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Hopes of a European trophy reaching these shores were dealt a severe blow tonight when half of the remaining British teams in continental competition were knocked out by a single goal.

Jeremain Lens’ 13^th minute strike for PSV Eindhoven saw them overcome Rangers, while Liverpool were unable to overturn their 1-0 deficit against Portuguese side Braga and Manchester City, despite winning 1-0, lost 2-1 on aggregate to Dynamo Kiev.

Aside from a disappointing night, it reflects the current state of not only the Europa League, but football in England and Scotland.

None of our representatives were able to sell out and Manchester City’s woeful attendance of less than 28,000 showed either that a 6pm kick off was wrong or no one could be bothered – may be a bit of both.

All of which leads me nicely to the abstract figure of one Mario Balotelli. “A genius. The next big thing” they cry. Interesting then, that the Italian who was in tears last week after suffering an allergic reaction to the pitch in Kiev, no doubt left his manager Roberto Mancini in floods when getting sent off for recklessly ‘kung-fu’ kicking Goran Popov’s chest.

Balotelli could well be the most gifted player ever, however, how are we supposed to know if he fails to reach the pitch?

The English had someone like him, though nowhere near as petulant. His name is Joe Cole and he wears an invisible cloak when playing for Liverpool. The Reds desperately needed “invention” as John Scales said in commentary on channel five’s poor coverage. The spearhead for this in a midfield should have been Cole. In truth it was no one in the end as Raul Meireles and Dirk Kuyt joined the Londoner to leave an unfit Andy Carroll to toil for 90 minutes.

Rangers may lament the fact they had two stonewall penalties denied. The first was a blatant handball on the line which was missed by the referee, both assistant referees, and both assistant assistant referees. All of which makes a mockery of UEFA’s answer to goal line technology – come to a cheaper solution. The second penalty claim was Majid Bougherra being bundled over with only minutes to spare but it was too late anyway.

There is a damning fact and tale at the end of all this. In the three ties, of two legs played by British teams in the Europa League last 16, only one goal was scored. Aleksandar Kolorov’s goal at Eastlands was the sole contribution to 540 minutes of football.

Contrast this with 2010’s efforts by the refreshing Fulham side who packed out Craven Cottage, minus Michael Jackson statue, and hammered the mighty Juventus 4-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate against the backdrop of the Thames and thousands of West Londoners standing up in belief.