Winter Round-Up
Here is a round-up of the Italian, German and Spanish Leagues to date.
La Liga
It is probably not too surprising that Barcelona are leading the way in Spain with 46 points, but I don't think too many people predicted Atletico to be in second place. Although having not found first gear this season, Barca have picked up on where they left off last season, albeit only ahead on goal difference. As for the Madrid sides, the tide could be turning. Real find themselves 5 points adrift of the top 2 and are positioned in 3rd place while Atleti are level on points with Barca.
In El Clasico this year, Barcelona took the spoils with a 2-1 victory over Madrid at the Nou Camp. Neymar offered a scintillating performance in the first battle between him and the other debutant, Gareth Bale by scoring the opening goal. Alexis Sanchez doubled their lead after a deft chip over Lopez before Jese grabbed a late consolation goal to half the deficit.
In terms of my prediction, Real Madrid have the talent to win the title this year, but in order to it, they will need to gel together. Barcelona have defensive worries, after conceding 2 against Getafe at the weekend, but as always, their attacking threat bailed them out. They will look to improve in that department over January. As for the other side of Madrid, they possess a lethal striker in Diego Costa. Already with 23 goals this season, Costa will be hoping to bag a few more in order to challenge the big guns in the Champions League and try to pip Barcelona and Real to the title.
#
|
Team
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
PTS
| |
1
|
17
|
15
|
1
|
1
|
49
|
12
|
37
|
46
| ||
2
|
17
|
15
|
1
|
1
|
46
|
11
|
35
|
46
| ||
3
|
17
|
13
|
2
|
2
|
49
|
21
|
28
|
41
| ||
4
|
17
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
26
|
21
|
5
|
33
| ||
5
|
17
|
8
|
5
|
4
|
33
|
23
|
10
|
29
| ||
Serie A
Last year's champions Juventus head into the Winter Break in pole position with leading the undefeated Roma by 5 points. Roma began the campaign in terrific fashion by winning their first 10 games and only conceding 1 goal in the process, but drawing too many games has cost them their top spot. 3rd place and lying a further 5 points behind is Napoli. Unlike Tottenham, Benitez and Napoli have spent wisely and are ready to pounce on any rare occasions when the top 2 drop points. As for the Milan teams, Inter find themselves poised in 5th position while the return of Kaka has done nothing to aid AC Milan's title prospects as they have had a torrid time and find themselves languishing in 13th - only 5 points of the relegation zone.
On Sunday, Inter beat AC in the Milan derby at a somewhat flat atmosphere in Northern Italy. Rodrigo Palacio neatly flicked the ball past Abbiati late on in order to send the Rossoneri home empty handed. The first week back treats us to a top of the table clash between Juventus and Roma, and a victory for Juve would give the an 8 point buffer zone. Juventus are the favourites to complete the job that they have started, but Roma could give them a bit of bother and make it tougher than they expected, however I do expect them to prevail.
#
|
Team
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
PTS
| |
1
|
17
|
15
|
1
|
1
|
39
|
11
|
28
|
46
| ||
2
|
17
|
12
|
5
|
0
|
35
|
7
|
28
|
41
| ||
3
|
17
|
11
|
3
|
3
|
36
|
20
|
16
|
36
| ||
4
|
17
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
33
|
20
|
13
|
33
| ||
5
|
17
|
8
|
7
|
2
|
37
|
21
|
16
|
31
| ||
Bundesliga
As expected, Bayern top the Bundesliga table by a mile, with Leverkusen in 2nd and Monchengladbach in 3rd. Bayern Munich and AS Roma are the only sides out of Europe's top leagues to be unbeaten up until now. Having only dropped 4 points from 16 games, and with a game in hand, Bayern are expected to dominate the league with having it wrapped up long before the conclusion of the season. Last year's Champions League and Bundesliga runner-up Borussia Dortmund, find themselves in 4 position, 12 points off the leader.
Dortmund versus Bayern was played on 23 November with Munich running out 3-0 winners. The West German side held the Bavarians out until the 66th minute when Mario Gotze scored against his old team. Arjen Robben executed a majestic lob over Weidenfeller in the 85th minute before Thomas Muller completed the rout. In a league that appears to be wrapped up already, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Monchengladbach will be hoping to hold off the victory for Bayern as long as possible.
#
|
Team
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
PTS
| |
1
|
16
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
42
|
8
|
34
|
44
| ||
2
|
17
|
12
|
1
|
4
|
32
|
16
|
16
|
37
| ||
3
|
17
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
35
|
19
|
16
|
33
| ||
4
|
17
|
10
|
2
|
5
|
38
|
20
|
18
|
32
| ||
5
|
17
|
9
|
3
|
5
|
28
|
19
|
9
|
30
| ||
My prediction:
La Liga
1. Real Madrid
2. Barcelona
3. Atletico Madrid
Serie A
1. Juventus
2. Roma
3. Napoli
Bundesliga
1. Bayern Munich
2. Borussia Monchengladbach
3. Borussia Dortmund
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