For the third year in succession, four English teams figured in the group stage of the Champions League but this season, Liverpool failed to join Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in the knock-out phase.
The Reds dropped out after finishing a disappointing third in their group. They will now continue their excursions on the continent via the Europa League.
Yet, the possibility of having an English team in the Champions League final for the sixth year running is still there.
The previous occasions:
2005: Liverpool-Milan 3-3 (Reds won 3-2 on penalties) in Istanbul.
2006: Barcelona-Arsenal 2-1 in Paris.
2007: Milan-Liverpool 2-1 in Athens.
2008: Manchester United-Chelsea 1-1 (United won 6-5 on penalties) in Moscow.
2009: Barcelona-Manchester United 2-0 in Rome.
Manchester United's proud home record in the Champions League, 23 matches without defeat at Old Trafford, came to an end as the English champions lost 1-0 to Turkish side Besiktas last month.
The Red Devils' record at Old Trafford:
2005-06: Villarreal 0-0, Benfica 2-1, Lille 0-0.
2006-07: vs Celtic 3-2, Benfica 3-1, FC Copenhagen 3-0, Lille 1-0, Roma 7-1, Milan 3-2.
2007-08: vs Sporting Lisbon 2-1, Roma 1-0, Dynamo Kiev 4-0, Lyon 1-0, Roma 1-0, Barcelona 1-0.
2008-09: vs Aalborg 2-2, Celtic 3-0, Villarreal 0-0, Inter 2-0, Porto 2-2, Arsenal 1-0.
2009-10: vs Wolfsburg 2-1, CSKA Moscow 3-3.
Three miss the boat
From the original six British clubs in competition, three have already fallen by the wayside as Scottish rivals Celtic and Rangers, like Liverpool, failed to reach the last 16.
From their very first outing against Debrecen, who were making their debut in the Champions League, Liverpool failed to sparkle and it was clear then that Rafa Benitez's men would struggle to compete with the likes of Fiorentina and Olympique Lyon.
Celtic knocked out Dinamo Moscow (2-1 on aggregate) in the third qualifying round but they failed to clear the next hurdle.
The Hoops lost both legs to Arsenal − home 0-2 and away 1-3.
Scottish champions Rangers had direct access to the group phase but erratic results left them at rock bottom in Group D with a mere two points to their credit.
Tournament marksmen
6 − Ronaldo (Real Madrid).
4 − Owen (Man. United), Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Dzeko (Wolfsburg).
3 − Drogba, Anelka (Chelsea), Mutu (Fiorentina), Grafite (Wolfsburg).
All-time record
Points average: Liverpool 64.00%; Man. United 63.84%; Chelsea 61.29%; Arsenal 57.28%.
Victories: Liverpool 56.57%; Man. United 55.66%; Chelsea 50.53%; Arsenal 48.89%.
Goals scored per game: Man. Utd 1.89; Liverpool 1.81; Arsenal 1.56; Chelsea 1.55.
Goals conceded per game: Chelsea 0.81; Liverpool 0.82; Arsenal 0.94; Man. Utd 0.95.