Reviewing and recapping the latest action from around Europe's top five leagues.
PSG, Juventus, Manchester City and Bayern stay clear while Levante fall off the summit in Spain. Milan continue to make their case in Italy.
Round 12 in France confirmed what we already knew, which was that PSG were odds on favourites for the title. What we didn't see coming and what Ligue 1 seems to be ramming down our throats every week is that Montpellier, whom we thought would do fairly decently, would be an outright revelation. Round 12 further confirmed Montpellier's rising star and after eight wins and two losses, the team sits in second, three points clear of Lille in third and only three behind leaders PSG.
Let's forget PSG for a moment. Montpellier have won three straight games and are unbeaten in four. Only, Lille, recovering from a very sluggish start, have a better run over the last five games, but as defending champions one is used to and expects such form from Rudi Garcia's side. Montpellier on the other hand are plucky but limited, enthusiastic but competent at best. Yet a team is much more than a mere collection of players and they have shown just that.
Their latest win was a routine 2-0 home win over Nancy, one of the league's bottom feeders, but the comfort and ease of the victory were suggestive of a top club swatting aside a minnow. And looking at the teable, that's exactly what Montpellier are. Behind them Lille have turned around their forsty start to the season and appear to be firing on all cylinders now. Their latest game was a disappointing goalless draw at Valenciennes kept their unbeaten run going and they have picked up 11 points from their last five games. Ahead of Lyon on goal difference, Lille still have a six point gap to make up on leaders PSG.
Lyon got back on the winning track with a 2-0 win over St. Etienne but remain inconsistent - their last five games have yielded three wins and two losses. The three contenders for the Europa League spots all lost with Rennes and Lorient joining St. Etienne in losing. Youthful Toulouse continued their impressive run with another win, 1-0 over the aforementioned Rennes to remain fifth in the table, a point behind Lyon.
Coming back to PSG, they remain atop the standings with their sixth win in a row. Their last ten games have brought nine wins and they remain unbeaten since an opening day loss to Lorient. To call them the class of the league would be an understatement. Valenciennes joins Nancy and Ajaccio in the drop zone while Oliver Giroud joins Kevin Gameiro at the summit of the scoring charts with eight goals.
Full League Details.
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Germany:
Bayern got back on the winning track after dropping points in recent away games. A minor blip, the brass at Bavaria are reassuring themselves, no doubt. Their latest game was an emphatic restating of their intent with a 4-0 hammering of unfortunate visitors Nurnberg. The usual suspects were all on the score-sheet with Frank Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger scoring goals bookended by a double from Mario Gomez. They remain atop the standings with 25 points four clear of surging Schalke who are now second. Speaking of Schalke, their latest win, 3-1 at home over Hoffenheim, was their fourth in five games. A stretch which has seen them move up the gears to usurp champions Borussia Dortmund in second spot.
Dortmund were held 1-1 at Stuttgart as Lukas Piszczek cancelled out Serder Tasci's early strike. They remain unbeaten in five but drop points for the first time in that stretch. Early front runners Gladbach recovered from their recent travails with a much needed 2-1 win over Hannover. Marcos Reus' double came either side of a strike from Emmanuel Pogatetz (remember him from his Boro days?). The result sees Gladbach stem the rot and steady themselves in fifth.
Mainz also lost, going down 3-1 at home to Werder Bremen as Claudio Pizzaro, Aaron Hunt and Stefan Prodl overturned the opener from Niko Bungert. Elsewhere Cologne hammered Augsburg 3-0, Hamburg and Kaiserslautern drew 1-1 and Bayer won 1-0 at Freiburg, who are now rock bottom.
The highlight of the round was a 3-2 win by Hertha Berlin at Wolfsburg. Both sides traded goals before Pierre Lasogga scored the winner after 85 minutes for the visitors. The table has a familiar look to it with Bayern and Schalke followed by the usual suspects in Dortmund, Bremen, Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen in the top eight. Other than Gladbach, Hannover continue to punch above their weight, nestled in seventh spot with 18 points from 11 games. Roughly .500 they have won five and lost four.
Augsburg and Freiburg are the bottom two with Hamburg in the relegation-promotion playoff spot of 16th. Mario Gomez continues to lead all scorers with 12 goals.
England:
This was a weekend
of getting back on track in terms of both balief and confidence. While a defeat
at home to rivals Manchester City had been equal parts humiliating and
destructive for Manchester United, the 1-0 win at Everton was a blend of basic
and simple. Having been exposed by a rampant attacking display by the Sky blues,
United reverted to a defensive shape that lacked both width and sophistication.
The win came off an early goal and United held on to record all three points
that were a timely salve to their wounded pride and shattered confidence. Titles
are built on simple wins like this, and they left the pitch having restored a
large measure of belief in their own ability
This was a weekend
of consolidation as Tottenham Hotspur showed why they are the odds on favourite
for fourth spot in the table. While previous teams would have invariably slipped
in a local derby against limited but tricky opponents, Spurs won easily and did
so with both poise and verve. sequences decide a season and the need to continue
to deliver important performances on a weekly basis is what sets the better
teams apart. Spurs time may indeed be now and they are showing just that with a
strengthening hold at the right end of the table. A pity then, that after having
begun the ascent into the higher echelons of the table, their gaze still remains
fixed on their neighbours and local rivals, who are several rungs below. Perhaps
the events on the pitch mask the real mountain that needs to be scaled in the
mind for what appears to be one of the pettiest teams in the
land.
This was a weekend
of continuing surprise and optimism for the long suffering legions of
supporters on Tyneside, at England's northern most major footballing outpost.
With striker Demba Ba potting his second hat trick of the season, Newcastle
continue to justify their lofty ranking in the top four and make a mockery of
those who predicted struggle and failure. Their team plays a sparkling form of
positive football honed on the continent but delivering in the Premiership,
while consistently picking up points against practically all and every opponent
so far. There is no I in team and the lack of superstar or ego in the swuad has
contributed to a wholistic feel where the team is very much more than the sum of
its parts. Newcastle continue to improve and impress and bring extended joy to
one of England's most fanatical fanbase.
This was a weekend
of thrilling enterprise mixed with unprofessional incompetence. Both Chelsea and
Arsenal served up a heady serving of the latter while Robin Van Persie, the best
striker in England and at a pinch in Europe, while fit anyway, continued to
impose his will on both a league season and a team that seemed to be headed
south. Flamboyant in attack with a panache borne of confidence and culture.
Arsenal exorcised a recent hood doo by comprehensively dismantling rivals
Chelsea in the latter's own backyard of Stamford Bridge. While Arsenal are still
far from becoming a finished product their recovery, in gentle and small steps
since their humiliating start to the season has been profound and cathartic.
Despite the defensive calamities this was a game they dominated and deservedly
won. And even Chelsea fans can struggle to deny the entertainment on offer
during the eight goal slugfest.
This was a weekend
when the Premiership proved once again that although it may not contain the best
teams or deliver the best football, it has no peers when it comes to excitement
and unpredictability. City still leads the
table ahead of United and impressive outfit Newcastle are third, while Chelsea fall to
fourth. Blackburn are now ahead of Bolton and Wigan but remain in the relegation zone. Robin Van Persie is now the scoring leader with ten goals. He has scored 28 in 27 league games in 2011.
Full League Details.
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Spain:
Levante's brave vigil atop the standings has finally ended with a summary 2-0 defeat at Osasuna. An eight game winning run was willed by romantic neutrals both in Spain and abroad as the plucky overachieving side was leading the Spanish Primera Liga for the past five rounds. However plucky may be a word too patronising as Levante were positive, organised and had a seemingly readymade plan for every occasion. The run had started with a defeat of Real Madrid and it was the same powerhouse club that replaced them at the summit after the latest round of games.
Levante had impressed, inspired and swayed public opinion during their stint as league leaders but may well now drop down the table. Their manager seems pleasantly resigned to the realistic eventuality that their stay atop the league was temporary and is already taking about getting involved in a season long struggle to avoid relegation. Most neutrals, including this writer, hopes they spend the rest of the season assualting the Europa League places instead. Levante drop to second with 23 points.
Real were a well oiled machine, winning their sixth game on the trot in a 1-0 win at Sociedad with a winner from Gonzalo Higuain. They take their spot at the top but are just a point ahead of Barcelona, who although unbeaten, have drawn three games while Real have only dropped points in two, including the loss at Levante. The Blaugrana stormed to a 5-0 win over Mallorca with Lionel Messi scoring a quicksilver hat-trick to break his three game scoreless spell. While the press, bored of Barcelona's domination had been quick to sound off on Messi's 'drought', he proved everyone wrong in their premature assessment of him. Then again when your standards are that high, even the most minor imperfections are pounced upon by critics clutching at straws.
In the shadow of the big two both Valencia and Villarreal won, 3-1 over Getafe and 2-0 over Rayo Valecano as the four Madrid clubs split their results. Atletico, the fourth one, also won, beating Zaragoza 3-1 with a double from Adrian. While Valencia remain fourth and just as last season, holding on to the slipstream behind the big two, Villarreal have had a terrible season and their win was only the second of the season. They improve to 13th. Sevilla, who had been sitting unbeaten, finally lost their first game, as they slumped at home 2-1 to Granada on Monday night. Manu had given the home side an early lead before late goals from Geijo and Mikel Rico turned things around. They remain in fifth spot.
Malaga won as well, after having lost three on the trot and sit in sixth, a point behind the Sanchez Pizjuan side. Despite the presence of Levante one cannot help thinking that the race for the remaining two Champions League spots are between Malaga, Sevilla and Valencia, with the latter currently very much in control. Previous trap door Sporting Gijon remained unbeaten for the third game in a row with a 1-1 tie with Bilbao. They have pulled clear of the relegation zone but remain on the periphery, sitting in 17th with eight points. They are in a group of four clubs with that haul, joined by Granada, Santander and Sociedad. Betis' plunge down the table continues apace with their sixth straight loss following their four game winning run to open the season. Their latest reverse was a 1-0 defeat at Santander, a result which props up one of the prime relegation candidates.
The duopoly is back, after a brief Levantine interlude, and the sprint over 38 games is back on between Real and Barcelona on 25 and 24 points respectively. So the season has gotten back to normal. Lionel Messi now leads both Higuain and Ronaldo 13 goals to 10.
Full League Details.
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Italy:
While Antonio Conte has imparted that same sense of determined endeavour that characterized his own career, and although Juventus are leading the Serie A table, one is beginning to wonder how much longer they can continue to do so. Solid, determined and well organised this is a team built on graft and not on craft. And with Napoli at large, Milan more potent than previously expected, and Udinese doggedly remaining in their slipstream, it appears that Juventus' work is indeed cut out for them. Their latest win was their fifth of the season and they remain unbeaten for the season, the only such team in Serie A. That it came at Inter was doubly pleasing what with the morale boost a defeat of an opponent away from home can have. Maicon's goal for inter was sandwiched between strikes from Mirko Vucinic and Claudio Marchisio.
In stark contrast to Juventus, Inter's season has unravelled in alarming fashion. Their latest setback was their fifth defeat of the campaign and they drop to 17th spot, just one above the drop zone. Inconsistency and a lack of focus have been the chief culprits as Inter have found themselves with a difference manager before Christmas for the second season in a row. Claudio Ranieri must motivate, reinvigorate and drag a leaden footed team back up the table.
Udinese won again with Antonio Di Natale scoring the winner over Palermo at home. The Zebras remain second, a point behind Juventus are looking strong up front while boasting the best defence in the league. Milan were similarly successful, in another big win for the Red Devils, 3-2 over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Zlatan Ibrahmovic scored a double either side of a strike from Alessandro Nesta, while Nicolas Burdisso and Bojan scored for Roma. Milan were even able to overcome the dismissal of in form midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng. Milan improve to fourth spot with their fourth straight win as their early season atrophy is all but forgotten.
Third is taken by Lazio, who notched a precious 3-0 win at Lazio, the biggest away win of the round as Senad Lulic, Miroslav Klose and Tomasso Rocchi all scored. Bologna also made a statement, seeing off Atalanta 3-1 for their second win a row to prop themselves upto 14th spot. For Atalanta a season that started so well has lost some of its momentum as they slumped to a second defeat in five game, a stretch that has yielded only one win.
Siena however scored the biggest win of the round absolutely hammering Chievo 4-1 at home to move into seventh with their second win in four unbeaten games. Fiorentina were another winning team, seeing of Genoa 1-0 in Florence. Of concern to neutrals will be the form of Napoli as they fell 2-1 at Catania for a second loss in four games, during which they have only picked up only four points. While they remain in fifth spot, they seem to be stuck in neutral and are now tied on points with Catania in sixth.
Novara, Lecce and Cesena round out the bottom three while Antonio Di Natale is in the scoring lead with seven strikes.
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