Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone believes English football needs to ‘ wake up ’ after this season ’ s poor showing in Europe . Chelsea , Arsenal and Manchester City were eliminated at the Champions League last 16 stage , and Everton were dumped out of the Europa League in the same round . Simeone , who takes Atletico to rivals Real Madrid for a Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday night , thinks this season ’ s failure should spark a response from the Premier League ’ s top clubs . Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has admitted his surprise at the plight of English clubs in Europe . Chelsea 's players look dejected during their costly draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain last month . Barcelona 's Luis Suarez beats Joe Hart during his side 's 2-1 win against Manchester City at the Etihad . Arsenal 's Mesut Ozil sits on the turf after his side 's last 16 Champions League exit at the hands of Monaco . Click here to read Simeone 's column in full . Writing in his exclusive column for Goal.com , he said : ‘ I ’ m surprised there are no English clubs left in the Champions League . ‘ English football has enormous potential with its footballers and financial clout . The fact that there is no English team left in the last eight of the Champions League or in the Europa League is a wake-up call for the Premier League to look at why it is that , despite their great economic power and with all the many great footballers playing in England , Chelsea are so far ahead of everyone else and why they have no teams left in Europe. ’ Simeone believes that Spain is still home to the two best teams in Europe - Wednesday night ’ s opponents Real Madrid , who have home advantage after a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon last week , and Barcelona . ‘ For us at Atletico , we are competing against two teams with the obligation of winning the Champions League , ’ he said . ‘ At the very least , Madrid and Barcelona are among the last eight in Europe every season and usually the last four , so for Atletico to win La Liga last season was a tremendous achievement. ’ Diego Godin ( left ) and Raul Garcia ( centre ) smile as Fernando Torres makes a point during training on Tuesday . Atletico Madrid defender Guilherme Siqueira ( left ) heads the ball as Antoine Griezmann watches on . Atletico forward Mario Mandzukic appeared in cheerful mood during training in Majadahonda on Tuesday . Atletico 's Turkey international Arda Turan keeps his eye on the ball ahead of the quarter-final clash . Beating Barca to the title last season was harder than winning the Champions League , according to Simeone . Simeone believes his side will face one of Europe 's top two teams when they take on Real Madrid . Carlo Ancelotti , meanwhile , resisted the opportunity to get his excuses in early ahead of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu . Despite facing Atletico without four members of his first team , he said : ‘ I have the best squad in the world and it is more important to me who is playing than who is not ’ . Gareth Bale is Real ’ s biggest absentee . He was vital for them in last season ’ s run-in , scoring in their quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund and in the final against Atletico Madrid . Sportsmail understands he remains committed to staying at the club beyond this summer , despite interest from Manchester United , and he was desperate to play on Wednesday night . Instead he is in a race to be fit for the semi-finals at the start of next month , should Real qualify . Carlo Ancelotti watches his players during the training session ahead of the crucial Champions League tie . Cristiano Ronaldo ( left ) and Lucas Silva ( right ) are put through their paces in training ahead of their next game . Daniel Carvajal , Marcelo Vieira and Sami Khedira ( left to right ) train ahead of the game with Atletico Madrid . Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid drew 0-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final . Gareth Bale will miss Wednesday 's second leg after picking up an injury against Malaga on Saturday . Bale misses the second leg because of a strain to his left calf , while Karim Benzema and Luka Modric have knee injuries . The latter has been ruled out for up to six weeks after sustaining ligament damage in Saturday ’ s win against Malaga . Left back Marcelo , meanwhile , is suspended as Ancelotti aims to end a seven-game winless streak against Simeone . He is expected to play Pepe in midfield alongside Toni Kroos and Isco , leaving Cristiano Ronaldo in attack with James Rodriguez and Javier Hernandez or Jese . If Hernandez gets the nod , it will be his first big-game start since joining from Manchester United on loan in September . Should Javier Hernandez play , it will be the Mexican 's first big-game start since joining Real Madrid .
There are no English clubs left in the Champions League or Europa League . Diego Simeone admits he is surprised at the plight of Premier League sides . He believes Barcelona and Real Madrid are the top two clubs in Europe . Atletico Madrid face Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final .