Europe’s Top Leagues Still Undecided Heading into the Home Straight
As we reach the climax to the 2009/2010 football season across Europe, it’s fascinating to see that a whole host of clubs are in contention for honours across the continent. In Europe’s top leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, nothing is certain, especially at the top, where fans are primed to witness a set of thrilling finales to whet the appetite for this summer’s World Cup.
In England, there might not be something wholly original about witnessing Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal battling for the title. Owing to the inconsistency of the top-four, however, all three are still in with a realistic chance of winning the league.
Chelsea are front-runners, having now gone four points clear of Manchester United in second who themselves are two points ahead of Arsenal. United’s recent 2-0 defeat to the Blues and their subsequent 0-0 draw away against Blackburn Rovers seems to have put paid to their chances of winning an historic four titles in a row. Under the tutelage of Sir. Alex Ferguson though, it would be unwise to completely write off the Red Devils.
Should United pull off a remarkable end of season turnaround, they will secure their nineteenth English league title, eclipsing Liverpool’s eighteen and securing them bragging rights over their bitter rivals.
Manchester United manager Ferguson had already cranked up the pressure on Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelloti by stating before Tuesday night’s game, “To my eyes they have an easy game against Bolton on Tuesday. We would expect them to win that and it will put them four points clear.” Ferguson’s mind games obviously did not deter a professional Chelsea side who ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a Nicolas Anelka winner.
With Arsenal on the periphery, lagging six points behind the league leaders, it might be fair to deduce that their inexperienced squad will have to endure another trophy less season. United meanwhile, face a difficult trip to Eastlands on Saturday in the Manchester derby. Their opponents, Manchester City are four points clear of Tottenham Hotspur as they occupy the fourth Champions League place, challenging the traditional ‘Big Four’ in their bid to usurp troubled Liverpool.
Chelsea still have some tricky encounters to negotiate as they bid to secure the Double having advanced to the FA Cup Final with a win over Aston Villa last weekend. They have a London derby against Tottenham, challenging for fourth place and looking to get over their FA Cup semi-final heartbreak against Portsmouth. Also, the Blues have a difficult trip to Anfield to play Liverpool in arguably their biggest remaining test of their title credentials.
Barcelona’s 2-0 win at the Bernabeu in the latest ‘El Clasico’ match-up between themselves and Real Madrid put the Catalans three points clear of Real as they look to win successive titles under manager Pep Guardiola.
With seven games left, Barcelona have been hit by a leg injury to influential midfielder Andreas Iniesta which looks likely to keep him out for up to four weeks and the majority of the end of season run-in. Such is the form of the Catalans at the moment, even the absence of a player of Iniesta’s quality might have little detrimental effect.
On paper, Barcelona’s most challenging remaining fixture is the penultimate game of the season that sees them travel to fourth-placed Sevilla. In reality, the leaders are twenty-nine points above the Rojiblancos and such is the confidence flowing through the side, they’ll probably remain undaunted.
Real, on the other hand, look like an expensively assembled team struggling to match expectations. They still have to face third-placed Valencia and a Mallorca side who have had an impressive campaign as they fight for a European place. Manager Manuel Pellegrini, will be charged with removing himself, plus his team, from the slump that befell all of them as they were outclassed last weekend by their arch-enemies.
Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich may have recently beaten second-placed Schalke 2-1 away and drawn with third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, however they still only lead Germany’s Bundesliga by two points.
The Bavarian giants are on course for a monumental treble, with the league, cup and Champions League crown in their sights. The last time this feat looked achievable, Bayern only managed to secure the league title in the 1998/99 season. Famously, they lost out on all three with defeat to Werder Bremen in the DFB Pokal final and to Manchester United in an infamous Champions League final.
The remaining fixtures of the title challengers involve an interesting assortment of town-hopping as all three will face relegation threatened Hertha Berlin and both Bayern and Leverkusen will meet Borussia Monchengladbach, Hanover and Hertha in intermittent weeks.
Bayern star Arjen Robben has a warning to his team-mates and fans though, especially after his side could have already had the league wrapped up by now. Bayern have only won once in four league games, having thrown away another 1-0 lead, this time against challengers Leverkusen.
Robben fumed: “We are making the same mistakes again and again. We have seen it many times that were led 1-0 and then lost control of the match. That is not acceptable.”
In Italy, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan were on course to win their fifth Scudetto in a row. Last weekend, however, top spot was snatched from them by a rampaging Roma side that beat struggling 2-1 Atalanta whilst Inter could only draw 2-2 with Fiorentina.
Roma now enjoy a one point lead over Inter who look increasingly weighed down by the expectation of their Champions League campaign, where they will meet Barcelona in the semi-finals. They enjoyed a nine-point lead at the top in February which has since dissipated.
Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic and inspirational figurehead Francesco Totti have scored the goals that have largely contributed to the Romans’ late bid for success. Having had a mixed start to season, former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has overseen a reversal in fortunes.
With five games remaining, it looks to be a straight challenge between the top-two after AC Milan dropped more points in their recent 2-2 draw with Catania. Despite fighting back from 2-0 down, Marco Borirello’s brace still means the Rossoneri are four points away from top and are now probably classed as outsiders.
Roma still have a tense Rome derby against Lazio to overcome with five games left of the season. It’s the first time they’ve enjoyed the summit of Serie A since 2007 and it’ll be interesting to see if they can last the pace. Inter may have too much experience, despite pressure on them to succeed in the Champions League to restore Italian pride in the competition and win their first European Cup in it’s modern guise.
It’s not just the predominant leagues in Europe where thrilling fights for the title are taking place. In France, Lyon’s dominance was broken by Bordeaux last year and an enthralling race is still very much far from complete. Marseille currently lead the way by two points from Auxerre however Lyon, Montpellier and Bordeaux still harbour title ambitions.
Plus, let’s not forget Steve McClaren’s FC Twente who have a good chance of winning the Dutch Eredivisie. They lead the way, four points ahead of Ajax although the Amsterdam side do have a game in hand and Twente have recently slipped up, losing 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar.
Whatever the respective outcomes this season, fans across Europe should be able to look forward to engrossing title battles that will last until the dying embers of the campaign. What’s more, they’ll get to witness their favourite stars strutting their stuff on the international stage at the World Cup. Roll on summer…
By William Geldart
